Camp Day

Larry Keenan serves up a double-double with some guidance

It’s Camp Day at Tim Hortons chains across the country, and is a special day for customers, staff and owners, as it is the one day of the year where all proceeds from coffee sales is directly donated to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation.

The Camp Day fundraiser was instituted back in 1986, as an opportunity for the stores and their customers to give back to their communities and help kids, who would never be able to afford camp, go on an adventure of a lifetime. The Foundation since 1975 has sent over 83,000 children and youth to a Foundation camp at no cost to them or their families.

Part of the fun of Camp day for customers and staff is having regular members of the community like hockey coaches, police officers and retired jewellers help (or hinder) serve the coffee.

“I’m always here, I come here every year, I enjoy it” says North Bay Trappers head coach Larry Keenan

“I look forward to doing this it’s great you interact with a lot of people that you know that you don’t normally see and a lot of the ladies (and gents) that serve us, we’re working with them it’s great fun,” says Brint Forbes who retired from Whitman’s Jewellers.

Both Keenan and Forbes were quick studies to the fine art of mixing up a ‘double double’ and ‘triple triple’, and say being behind the counter gave them a whole new appreciation for the staff.

“Well I believe everybody that fraternises this place should spend about 10 minutes behind the here and then they will never get mad at a server back here, they’d never get mad at any of the girls, cause you couldn’t pay me to do this,” states Keenan.

Amongst all the fun both Keenan and Forbes note the great work of the chain and what it means to the community.

“It’s a wonderful place, it’s a wonderful event, we’re raising money for some special kids to go to camp that normally wouldn’t be able to go so it’s a win win situation,” says Forbes.

“I think it’s great and I think the public realises that but if they only knew the joy they give to these kids they would appreciate it much more,” states Keenan.

In association with their local youth organisations and schools store owners choose kids who are identified to most benefit from attending a foundation camp.

Last year the coffee chain raised $6.4 million on Camp Day and this year they are hoping to exceed that total in order to send more children on an adventure of a lifetime.

Coffee lovers are encouraged to over indulge today as the coffee is fresh and hot plus ‘you’ve always got time for Tim Hortons’.