Tim Hortons Camp Day Returns July 15 with a Full-Priced Coffee for a Cause, Rooted in Six Decades of Community Tradition
July 10 - 2026
Coffee Geography Magazine
For the 31st consecutive year, the unmistakable aroma of freshly brewed coffee at Tim Hortons will carry more than just a morning pick-me-up on July 15. Camp Day, the chain’s flagship philanthropic event, returns with a simple yet powerful promise: 100 percent of the purchase price from every hot and iced coffee sold, excluding taxes, will be donated directly to the Tim Hortons Foundation Camps. The annual fundraiser, woven into the fabric of the brand’s identity, offers guests a chance to fuel youth development programs that have reshaped nearly 350,000 young lives over the past half-century.
To fully appreciate the significance of Camp Day, one must revisit the humble origins of Tim Hortons itself. In 1964, Canadian hockey legend Tim Horton, a stalwart defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, opened a single coffee-and-doughnut shop in Hamilton, Ontario. Horton envisioned a place where hard-working people could find a quality, affordable cup of coffee and a moment of respite. Tragically, Horton died in a car accident in 1974, but the seeds he planted had already begun to flourish under the stewardship of his business partner, Ron Joyce. Joyce transformed the single shop into a cultural institution, expanding the menu and the footprint with an ethos that treated every restaurant as a community hub. By the time the first Tim Hortons location opened in the United States in the 1980s, the chain had become synonymous with everyday Canadian life, a place where morning routines, hockey chatter, and charitable giving naturally intersected.
That spirit of community stewardship gave rise to the Tim Hortons Foundation Camps in 1974, the very year of Horton’s passing. What began as a single camp in Parry Sound, Ontario, has since evolved into a multi-site, year-round leadership and development organization serving underserved youth across Canada and the United States. For 50 years, the camps have provided life-changing opportunities to young people facing socioeconomic barriers, equipping them with skills in leadership, resilience, and collaboration. The Foundation’s programs are not a simple summer escape; they are a long-term investment. Participants often return for multiple years, progressing through curricula that build confidence and open doors to post-secondary education and employment. The nearly 350,000 alumni stand as a testament to a model funded almost entirely by restaurant owners, corporate contributions, and the unwavering loyalty of coffee drinkers on Camp Day.
This year, the mechanics of generosity are both straightforward and expansive. On July 15, every size and every cup of hot or iced coffee sold at participating Tim Hortons restaurants in the U.S. and Canada will see its full purchase price, before taxes, flow directly to the Foundation. It is a day when upsizing an order becomes an act of philanthropy, and treating a friend or family member to a coffee carries a tangible, communal benefit. Guests can also round up their total bill to make an additional donation, a seamless digital gesture that amplifies the impact.
Beyond individual cups, Tim Hortons is encouraging group participation through its beloved Take 12 offering. A Take 12 box, which bundles a dozen small coffees with cups, dairy, and sweeteners, is an easy way for workplaces, teams, and extended families to join the cause collectively, with pre-order forms available in advance to streamline the morning rush. In the days leading up to July 15, guests can sport their support by purchasing a vibrant Camp Day bracelet for $3, with $2.01 of every bracelet donated as profit to the camps. Restaurants will also feature a limited-time Campfire Donut, a themed baked treat selling for $2, with the entire purchase price (before taxes) directed to the Foundation. For those inspired to make a deeper, sustained commitment, one-time and monthly donations will be accepted both in-store and online.
Katerina Glyptis, President of Tim Hortons U.S., captured the collective emotion that surfaces each mid-July. “Camp Day is one of the most meaningful days on the calendar for all of us at Tim Hortons, as a special day when our brand, our restaurant owners, and our guests come together to do something truly good,” Glyptis said. “Every coffee sold supports meaningful development of youth from our restaurant communities, and we’re so grateful to our guests for showing up year after year and making a real difference.”
Today, Tim Hortons operates more than 6,000 systemwide restaurants across Canada, the United States, and around the globe. Its menu has stretched far beyond the original coffee and doughnut to include cold brews with cold foam, lattes, the iconic Iced Capp, TimsBoost energy infusions, and an all-day food lineup. Yet for all the innovation, the company’s calendar still revolves around a day when a cup of coffee serves as a bridge between a 1964 dream and a future full of possibility for young people who need it most. On July 15, that bridge is built one coffee at a time.