Tim Hortons camp gives kids a memorable summer experience

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Anyone who drinks Tim Horton’s coffee is familiar with “camp day”, where all proceeds are put towards sending under privileged kids to camp.

Today, Sean Leathong visited one of the seven camps the coffee chain has built to help kids have a memorable summer.

It’s a place where kids are meant to have fun, where they can meet new friends… learn new skills, or take a break. For Zariah Hall, the experience is easy to describe. “It’s really cool. It makes you feel all like warm and fuzzy inside like you’re great.” The 14 year old from Waverly Ohio is one of 18 thousand kids across North America who will be able to attend camp this year, thanks to Tim Hortons Childrens Foundation.

This year Tim Hortons Camp Day raised a record 12.4 million dollars and this is where the money goes. Kids are sponsored by a local Tim Hortons owner based on economic need.

The moment kids arrive at Onondega farms in St. George they are made to feel welcome. They are also greeted by roomy cabins, top notch sports equipment, a green house, and an observatory.

But a week here is about much more than just having a week away. A lot of the activities that the kids will do are meant to inspire team work and goal setting.

Dave Newnham is the Executive Director of Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation. “It’s a fun ten days for them, but it’s really more about those skills that they gain that we know are going to stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Kids are taught to support their peers and held to a high standard. And for campers like Zariah, the results are immediate. “Before I came I was like, really shy, and I didn’t like want to do anything. Everyone in my cabin, we all became really really close and like really trustworthy with each other.”

And there are now over 200 thousand stories like Zariah’s, thanks to these camps.