TORONTO, Canada – Tim Hortons Foundation Camps (Tims Camps) announced today they have committed $5 million to a five-year partnership with Justice Fund Toronto, focused on supporting underserved youth. The partnership, kicking off this fall, will enable the two not-for-profit organizations to combine their resources to provide programming opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and youth of colour from under-resourced communities in Toronto.
Tims Camps is a Canadian leader in youth development programming with six exceptional campuses across Canada, built and funded by Tim Hortons owners since 1974. The Justice Fund was founded by Noah “40” Shebib, Yonis Hassan and Jermyn Creed to break the cycle of conflict in underserved communities by providing youth with opportunities to thrive.
Tims Camps has dedicated $5 million over five years to provide customized youth programming at two of its campus sites: Tim Horton Onondaga Farms Camp in St. George Ontario and the Tim Horton Memorial Camp in Parry Sound, Ontario. In addition, Tims Camps will provide its first-ever off-campus programming via after-school sessions at a new downtown facility to be opened by the Justice Fund. The Justice Fund will identify the youth, community organizations, and community chaperones to be included in the Tims Camps programming.
Racialized youth in Toronto are disproportionately impacted by poverty. While many youth benefit from a myriad of opportunities to grow and develop, many Black, Indigenous, and youth of colour are limited by their access to the health, academic, and social resources necessary to thrive.
“We’re honoured our initial pilot program with Tims Camps has grown into a remarkable long-term partnership, with a bold $5 million commitment to provide accessible outdoor programming to BIPOC youth across the GTA. Our city is blessed to have leading non-profits such as Project FU, Artcity, Kickback Project — AND it’s been a privilege to collaborate with these organizations through the partnership of Tims Camps, Justice Fund and 40 Foundation,” said Noah “40” Shebib, Co-Founder of Justice Fund.
“Tim Hortons restaurant owners have spent decades funding our exceptional camp sites across Canada and youth programming that has helped more than 300,000 youth since 1974. This is the first time that we have entered into a major partnership to focus on helping a specific community in need – Black, Indigenous, and youth of colour from underserved communities across Toronto. This is also the first time that we will bring our exceptional youth programming off campus to a downtown facility in Toronto where we can serve youth after school and close to their own communities. The special programming we have developed alongside the Justice Fund will allow us to help these youth in need both downtown in Toronto and expose them to our exceptional facilities and camp experience in St. George and Parry Sound. The combination of downtown and at-camp programming will be a powerful experience that we believe will change a lot of lives and help break the cycles of poverty and violence that we see in these communities,” said Duncan Fulton, Chief Corporate Officer of Tim Hortons and Chairman of Tims Camps.
“Programming developed in collaboration with community partners like Justice Fund allows us to merge our expertise and provide more impactful and effective services for the youth and communities we serve,” said Katie Wheatley, Executive Program and Operations Officer at Tims Camps. “We know the power of experiential learning. Partnering with the Justice Fund will mean more youth have more meaningful opportunities to build critical skills and bring their strengths back into their communities to springboard real change.”
This long-term partnership follows a 10-week pilot program from both organizations, developed in Fall 2021 that delivered at-camp and in-community programming to Toronto’s historically underserved communities to foster positive connections, encourage civic engagement and build meaningful skill development.
“Justice Fund has created something truly special that puts youth and their communities first, working with Tims Camps, a brand known across Canada for decades of supporting youth in need through exceptional programming and experiences,” said Yonis Hassan, Co-Founder and CEO of Justice Fund. “Based on what we’ve seen from the pilot last Fall, we know this program helps open up new ways of thinking and inspires them to make a difference in Toronto’s underserved communities.”
