It has been almost a year since Newmarket Tim Hortons locations first began bringing free coffees to frontline medical workers as a gesture of thanks for the work they have been doing during the pandemic, and on Thursday, they will be doing it again.
On April 1, employees of local Tim Hortons franchises will be delivering coffee to frontline workers at eight locations across Newmarket and East Gwillimbury, including the local vaccine clinic, emergency housing facilities, Newmarket Food Pantry and the Newmarket Co-op food bank.
Last year's events, which took place in the first few chaotic weeks of the pandemic, focused on medical staff and first responders. But franchise owner Jim Alexander said this time, they want to show their appreciation to more people who are putting their safety on the line every day.
"This time around, we wanted to go to places like the hospice, shelters and the clinic and give coffee and cookies to the frontline workers there," he said.
"It's really just an offer of our thanks. It went over really well last April at the start of the pandemic, and we are still in the midst of it now ... Next time, it will be a new group of people, I guess. But, hopefully, it will be after the pandemic is over."
"It's a small gesture on our part, but it seems to go along way."
Like last year, Alexander will be using mobile Tim Hortons coffee vans owned to serve the coffee around town. Before the pandemic, the vans were equipped with coffee-making machines inside, but they have been removed, and the coffee and cookies will be prepared at a nearby Tim Hortons location and then delivered.
"Everything will be prepackaged safely in one of the stores, taken out and dropped off," he explained.
Alexander hopes that other businesses and groups will see what they are doing and be inspired to come up with their own ideas for showing appreciation for frontline workers.
"You can never have enough of this stuff going on," he said.
