Members of the Timmins Police Service, OPP, and DARE Program had big smiles on their faces today when they accepted a cheque from Tim Horton’s from the Smile Cookie Campaign.

The annual campaign raises funds for the local DARE Program and the OPP, and this year the campaign brought in $30,722. That’s the second year in a row that the Smile Cookie Campaign has raised more than $30,000 for the community and OPP.

The campaign has come a long way in Timmins. Since the early 2000’s, the campaign has been raising funds to help local programs in the community. The very first Smile Cookie Campaign in Timmins raised about $5,000. That number has been steadily rising for years. Now, the Timmins DARE Program and the OPP will be splitting the $30,722 between them.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Constable and Coordinator for the DARE Program, Rick Lemieux, “the support from the community with these smile cookies is unbelievable. I don’t know if it’s because they’re so good or if they’re supporting the DARE Program; I like to think it’s a mix of both.”

The money raised from the Smile Cookie Campaign will go a long way for the Timmins DARE Program. It will help fund books and other materials, and help the Grade 6 and Grade 8 Leadership Camps.

The DARE Program here is trying to enhance kids’ and teens’ decision making skills, acting as more of an evidence-based decision making skills program, teaching youths valuable lessons that go beyond just drug awareness.

“We give them tools on how to react to situations with drugs or without drugs,” Lemieux said, “anything that could be unhealthy or could have a negative impact on their life, we’re trying to give them tools where they can make the right decisions for them.”

Some of the topics the DARE Program covers includes stress and how to reduce it, peer pressure, and communication, which Lemieux says is an extremely important skill for young people to develop.

“[It’s] huge,” he said, “to be able to communicate, to be able to express yourself and accept other people’s opinions and make sure that they accept your opinions so you can have a discussion.”

Other topics the DARE Program covers includes effective listening, bullying, responsibilities, and substances like tobacco, alcohol and, recently added, marijuana.

“We’re giving them facts and health affects,” Lemieux said, “In no way do we tell students or anybody what to do. We’re just giving them tools to make the choice that they want to make.”

Lemieux has been a part of the local DARE Program for about 15 years, and he says it’s something he’s extremely proud of.

“It’s something that I’m very proud of,” Lemieux said, “because our service, myself and Officer Bill, work very hard to make the program the best it can be. So it’s important for me that it keeps going. Because I get so much feedback from students years later.”

Lemieux says he hears from past students all the time about how helpful the DARE Program was for them later in life.

“I hear it all the time, ‘Hey, Constable Rick, you know what, you had an impact on my life.’ And I’ve had some of them say, ‘You know what, I kind of went off the path a little bit and I came back. So thanks for giving me those tools.’ So, you know, it’s important because students need it.”

Lemieux says the DARE Program is one of many resources for young people to learn from. He says the program works with the support of parents, schools, and police.

“Basically, the program is to assist with parents in giving them information. So the parents give them information out of the home, the teachers give it at school, the officer goes in and gives them information. With everybody working together, we can hopefully have these kids make safe and healthy choices.”

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