Altona YFC/Youth Unlimited had a very successful first time partnership with the town's Tim Hortons location for Smile Cookie Week. $18,234 was generated through the fundraiser.
Program Director Marty Falk admits they weren't sure what to expect, but knew it would probably be quite busy.
"Every time we would go to Tim Hortons to pick up the cookies that needed to be decorated, there was just boxes of them, and then when you lay them out on the table to decorate them, there was just so many cookies," he said. "At the beginning of the week, everybody was really gung ho. By the end of the week, we maybe were slowing down a little bit, maybe a little bit lazy eyes and some smirks instead of smiles, but it was really fun."
Meanwhile, it was another successful Smile Cookie week for Morris YFC/Youth Unlimited which partnered with the town's Tim Hortons for the event. $17,311 was raised, and Executive Director Jack Wiebe says it was certainly a "go, go, go" kind of week.
"It was just really neat to see community people who wanted to give their support," said Wiebe. "They want to say they're on board with what's going on, and if that means buying a cookie or 1,000 cookies, they were going to do what it took. It just really feels good to be so supported with the ministry, and have a community that really values our young people."
"Thank you very much for your support during last week's Smile Cookie campaign," shared Rupesh Patel, the Morris and Altona franchise owner. "It would not have been possible without the generosity of our communities and hard work of so many dedicated volunteers."
Volunteers key to success
Both Falk and Wiebe were clear regarding how important their respective volunteer decorators were to their success.
"Our volunteers that came and helped us decorate, if we would have had to decorate those by ourselves, I wouldn't have been a happy person, but we got to to do that with with some great volunteers." said Falk with chuckle. "Rupesh, and team at Tim Hortons, everything they did for us, that was great to see, and being able to kind of build a relationship with those guys, as well. And the community. Altona seems to step up time and time again for us. It doesn't seem to matter what it is we're doing, they support us."
"I want to thank everyone in the R.M. of Morris, man, you guys and the community just you step up to show how important these kids are," said Wiebe. "You are part of the team making sure there is a way for kids to hear and know about Jesus, and have the opportunity to choose him for themselves. So thank you to the community, and thank you to the kids and volunteers who spent tonnes of time putting icing on cookies, boxing cookies and making sure everything was just right."
Wiebe also had a particular thank you for program participant Natalie Wiebe who went above and beyond in her help over the week.
Altona YFC wins Smile Cookie Week challenge
As for that challenge between Altona and Morris YFC's regarding who could sell the most Smile Cookies, Altona came out on top by a little more than $900 meaning Morris's Jack Wiebe will be an assistant for a day in Altona.
"Really, everyone wins because it goes and supports the kids and the mission of sharing Jesus with them, Altona and Morris, we both win," said Wiebe. "But honestly, I'm really a competitive guy, and so I am a little bit humbled. You know, if I could serve anywhere, serving in another ministry for a day as their sidekick in the ministry, is actually probably going to bless me just as much."
"Like Jack said, we're both winners," offered Falk. "We put the challenge out to both of our communities which stepped up, and that's great to see. It's good to see how the communities supported each of us, and like Jack said, all the money we raised goes to our programs, and our programs are there to bring Jesus to these kids lives. That means we get to do more of our programs and introduce Jesus to more kids."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Jack Wiebe, Marty Falk and Chris Sumner below.