LONDON, ONT. -- A Smile cookie cheque of $257,230 was presented to the Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) Monday morning, by area Tim Hortons restaurant owners.

The cookies are sold, for a short time each year, at Tim Hortons stores. They cost a dollar, and all proceeds are donated to charities and organizations across Canada.

“They’re a dollar each, a dollar that’s very well spent, not only does that dollar make a difference to our kids, but you get a tasty treat,” says CHF President and CEO Scott Fortnum.

The smile cookie campaign was "wonderfully" successful, with this year's campaign coming in as the second-best in its history.

“And it happened during a pandemic, it’s phenomenal, big thank you to Tim Hortons owners and customers,” Fortnum says.

Fortnum says this year's donation will be used to purchase pieces of equipment to help premature babies.

“They’re called Giraffe OmniBeds, well be able to buy four of those, which supports premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.” 

Tim Hortons restaurant owner and operator, Tiffany Grubb, says she sold over 10,000 smile cookies between two locations this year.

“The cookies are about engaging and helping the community...we do the cookies every year and something different comes out of it every year. It’s really special,” says Grubb.

The actual cheque will be mailed to CHF directly by Oct. 26.