Buy a smile, support the local DARE program

Starting Monday, Tim Horton’s locations across the city will have something extra for you to smile about.

SMILE cookies are back for another year, with all the proceeds going towards the DARE Program.

Constable Rick Lemieux says fundraisers like this help the local program so much, and allows them to offer additions for students—like a t-shirt, a DARE bracelet or a stuffed Darren the lion toy—that sometimes stick with them for years.

“It’s almost like a reminder to them that they made this promise, that they have this knowledge to make good choices,” Lemieux says.

The stories alone from Lemieux showcase just how much of an impact DARE has on students.

He recalls a story from last year about a Grade 12 Ecole Secondaire Catholique Theriault student.

“(The student told Lemieux) ‘You had a huge impact on me back in Grade 6’,” he recalled, adding the student pulled out the Darren the Lion toy received six years prior.

“I said ‘What are you doing with a little Darren in your backpack in Grade 12’ and they said ‘It’s just there as a reminder. It’s there to help me think things through a little bit, to work hard in school and to make good choices in my life.'”

That story touched Lemieux. And he says because of the success of last year’s SMILE cookie campaign, the DARE board voted to get every DARE student a Darren the Lion toy.

And there were others.

Without saying names, Lemieux says a student was sent to CHEO in Ottawa. He learned that this student was upset she couldn’t take part in the DARE program, so Lemieux was given the opportunity to go to Ottawa to teach the girl exclusively.

He says the girl will be back in December, and they’re holding off the graduation ceremony until January so the girl can graduate the program with her classmates.

“This money (from the campaign) gives us the opportunity to make sure that nobody’s going to be left behind,” Lemieux adds.

The DARE program has seen expansion over the last year too. One big thing was the DARE Leadership Camp that was held at Camp Bickell this past summer.

Lemieux says while Canadian Tire Jumpstart provided funding, the DARE Board also had to chip in some dollars.

He says they’re not stopping to grow either, noting there’s a Grade 10 program they really want to get into local high schools.

“(It) is a little bit different than the other program, simply because in high school, everybody has a different schedule,” he said, “But we do have a program for Grade 10 students where it’ll be two lessons. One with the officer, and then they would go home and they would do things on their computer four lessons on their own, and then one more lesson with the officer.”

Lemieux is headed to New Jersey in a couple weeks to train more officers in the program.

Before he leaves, you can bet he’ll have scarfed down a cookie or two to add to the total. Last year, the campaign raised just over $27-thousand dollars.

It’s been trending upwards year-after-year, and Lemieux is hopeful that trend continues.

The cookies themselves are a dollar, and will only be on shelves for seven days, ending on Sunday, September 17th.

They are available in bulk at the store, or you can fill out an order form that can be sent to either a Tim Horton’s location or Lemieux.

CLICK HERE for an order form.