By Kristin Archer

Hamilton loves their Timmie’s! As we know, the first ever Tim Hortons was right here in Hamilton (which opened on May 17, 1964). That Ottawa Street location is still a classic – it’s now a mini Tim Hortons museum filled with memorabilia as well as being a classic coffee shop. Before it was renovated, I was happy to make sure I visited it during the month of Tim Horton’s 50th anniversary, back in May 2014, shortly before the original structure was torn down to put up the new one.

Photo by Kristin Archer
Photo by Kristin Archer

As we get festive and into the holiday season, Tim Hortons brought some goodwill to six cities across Canada on November 16th with their #WarmWishes campaign. Hamilton was one of those lucky cities. Tim’s truck rolled through Barton and Victoria with free coffee and hot chocolate, and most importantly, their Cup of Good Deeds.

The pop-up encouraged everyone to write down a good deed that they would like to see happen in Hamilton. It could be anything from helping out an elderly neighbour with yard work, to bringing hot soup to a sick friend, to even grander gestures. After collecting all of the good deeds, the Tim’s crew got to work to complete as many as possible throughout the day.

Photo by Kristin Archer
Photo by Kristin Archer

My warm wish was to buy buttons for 541 Eatery & Exchange‘s button jar. 541 is right on Barton Street and they have an awesome “pay it forward” system where you can purchase buttons which can be used for monetary value, when someone comes in who is unable to pay for their coffee or a meal. Sometimes that jar can get quite low, so that was my wish, to fill it up!

With all six cities combined, 150 good deeds were completed that day across the country by the Tim Hortons crew. Kind gestures in Hamilton included purchasing chemo caps and hair scarves for the Cancer Assistance Program in Hamilton and bringing food and supplies to the Hamilton SPCA.

Photo by Suzanne Zandbergen
Photo by Suzanne Zandbergen
Photo by Suzanne Zandbergen
Photo by Suzanne Zandbergen

When asked why Hamilton was chosen as one of the cities to receive #WarmWishes, Tim Hortons let me know:

“We opened our first Tim Hortons restaurant in Hamilton and we’ve always shared a special connection with the community. With our Warm Wishes campaign and Cup of Good Deeds going national this year, we had to include Hamilton and we completed over 30 deeds in the city! This was our small way of giving back to the community as they’ve always given so much to us.”

If you were unable to make it, you can still submit a good deed until December 14th over social media (just use #WarmWishes and @TimHortons on Twitter or Instagram). You can also purchase #WarmWishes merch like mitts, toques, mugs, tree ornaments, candy cane hot chocolate and more at participating Tim Hortons stores.

#WarmWishes was a warm and fuzzy way to help get us into the holiday spirit. Everyone deserves a warm wish, and I hope to see this sentiment continue and that we remember to continually pay it forward through small acts of kindness every day.

Photo by Kristin Archer
Photo by Kristin Archer

Note: This is a sponsored post; thoughts about the event are my own.

kristin
ihearthamiltontour@gmail.com
Kristin Archer is the creator of I Heart Hamilton (www.ihearthamilton.ca), where she has blogged about experiences around her hometown since 2011, growing a social media presence along the way. Encouraging locals to “be a tourist in your own city,” she promotes arts and culture across her various social media platforms, blog, and weekly radio show on 93.3 CFMU.

2 thoughts on “#WARMWISHES”

  1. Hi there I would love to know how I can send a dear friend of mine a warm Christmas wish..She is always putting people first and doing everything she can to see someone smile…I would love to be able to return the favour and see her smile…She is a mother of 4 and was diagnosed in February of this year with cancer she did not go a day without having her timmy by your side the whole time she was going through treatment… even though she went through several weeks of radiation at five rows of chemotherapy therapy she was still thinking of others and making them smile…With the strength of her children she was able to beat the cancer and as of October 19 of this year she is a cancer survivor….She is the strongest woman I know she never let her radiation and chemo therapy treatment bring her down…I would love to show her that her friends at Tim Hortons love her….Really hope you can help me with this Christmas miracle ….Thanks again Lisa #love #timhortons #miracle #warmwishes

    1. Thank you for sharing, Lisa! You submit a Warm Wish to Tim Hortons by tweeting them or posting on Instagram and tagging them @TimHortons and using the hashtag #WarmWishes!

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