Tim Hortons cookies help raise money for Penticton Regional Hospital

The Stawarz family, owners of the Tim Hortons restaurants in the South Okanagan, will donate at least $100,000 from their annual Smile Cookie promotion over the next five years to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s campaign to equip the new Patient Care Tower at Penticton Regional Hospital.

Image Credit: Contributed

September 09, 2015 - 1:30 PM

PENTICTON - A five-year $100,000 pledge from the owners of the Tim Hortons restaurants in the South Okanagan is certain to bring smiles to the faces of patients and staff at Penticton Regional Hospital.

The Stawarz family, owners of the Tim Hortons in Penticton, Summerland, Oliver and Osoyoos will donate all proceeds from the Smile Cookie promotion — on now until Sept. 20 — to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation. The money will help provide medical equipment in the new Patient Care Tower at PRH.

Cookies are available at Tims for $1 each, with special orders of freshly baked cookies available for pick-up by businesses, organizations and families.

Nicole MacMillan, spokesperson for the Stawarz family, said they’re delighted to support the SOS Medical Foundation’s PRH campaign.

“Our parents settled in Penticton just over 20 years ago and raised my sister and I. We now both have children of our own and we thought hard about what we can do to benefit every single person in this community,” MacMillan said. “Growing up with Tim Hortons, our family has always been very involved in the community and we thought this would be the perfect way to help even further.”

The Smile Cookie campaign allows the Stawarz family to give back to the community through a local charity. MacMillan noted PRH benefits the entire South Okanagan-Similkameen and staff, guests, and their families will all gain from the hospital expansion.

“Our hopes are to go beyond $100,000 but we will set one goal at a time and are excited to see where this goes,” she said. “We want to stress that we chose the SOS Medical foundation and are honoured to put 100 percent of all the proceeds towards the hospital.”

Janice Perrino, the Foundation’s executive-director, said she is thrilled by the support shown by the local franchise owners.

“This is just one more example of how Tim Hortons is so much a part of our community throughout the region,” Perrino said.

Construction of the new tower at PRH is due to start in the spring of 2016 and be completed by late 2019.