Today is a day that is aimed at helping change the lives of children across the country. Today is Tim Hortons Camp Day, where 100 percent of the proceeds from coffee sales go towards the Tim Hortons Foundation.
Weyburn’s Renee McDonald is an alumnus of the Tim Hortons camp program. She first went to the camp in 2008 and then moved on to being part of their youth leadership program from 2012 to 2016. She said her experience at the camp over the years was invaluable.
“As a youth, I came from a very big, but very low-income family, so extracurriculars weren’t really something I got to experience throughout the year,” McDonald said. “So I had camp to look forward to.”
Some of the activities held at the camps range from canoeing and kayaking to sports and camp games, and of course, spending time around a campfire sharing laughs and forging memories.
Aside from being able to participate in all the activities, there were many other things McDonald took away from her camp experience over the years.
“I learned so much about myself, and I grew into a confident individual through my camp experiences,” she shared. “The way I did this was by connecting and making new friends. I really had a hard time as a youth because I just had a hard time making friends, but once I got to camp, it just felt so easy to make those connections and to make lifelong friends. I’m still friends with a lot of the people that I met through camp, and that’s been very important to me.”
In addition to those connections, McDonald said she learned about the importance of kindness, compassion, and community, along with teamwork, all of which are things she has taken to heart as she has embarked on a career in early childhood education.
“This camp changes lives,” McDonald added. “And by buying a coffee on Camp Day and participating in bracelet purchases and everything, 100 percent of the proceeds on Camp Day from coffee sales and bracelet sales go towards the foundation so that they can send more kids to camp.”