Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Tim Hortons, Sanad Children’s Cancer Association sign MoU to support children with cancer in Saudi Arabia

AG Café, the master franchisee of the Tim Hortons brand in the Middle East – a joint venture entity owned by Apparel Group, a global fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate, and Gateway Partners, an emerging markets alternative investment firm – signed a memorandum of understanding with Sanad Children’s Cancer Association.
Attending the event were Hesham Almekkawi, CEO of AG Café, Aamir Allibhoy, CMO of AG Café, Asim Khan, Senior Marketing Executive of AG Café, Reem AlHegela General Manager for Sanad Children’s Cancer Association, and her team members, Sarah Al Othman Partnerships Officer, Dalal Abdulelah AlKhalaf Head of Public Relations and Marketing, and Suad Abdullah AlHumaidi Director of Program Services.

This collaboration comes as part of Tim Horton’s ambition to support charitable and humanitarian organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and fulfills the common interest of all parties.

The memorandum stipulates that Tim Hortons in KSA, and in cooperation with Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association, will carry out a long-term campaign which contributes to reducing the medical bills and overall financial impact for children with cancer, where each riyal, or more, donated by Tim Hortons customers will be allocated to Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association.

This MOU aims to fortify the means of cooperation which are in line with the directives of Tim Hortons as a brand, to mobilize community services and support societies through volunteering and joint contributions conducted by a set of charitable initiatives and activities.

The collaboration highlights the need to spread hope among young cancer patients by showcasing inspiring stories of other patients who were able to overcome this disease and recover from it. This best practice will enable the moral and psychological support of patients and help children with cancer regain faith in their ability to recover, which would ultimately boost their energy levels and amplify their efforts to fight the disease. Spreading hope is an integral part of the treatment and one of the main objectives for launching this campaign.

Hesham Almekkawi, CEO of AG Café the master franchisee of Tim Hortons brand in the Middle East, said that: “As an active charitable organization, we believe in the importance of social efforts and launching initiatives that aim to give back to the communities in which we are operational, in addition to our continuous commitment to improve the quality of life of our customers. We are pleased with this long-term collaboration with Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association, which is keen on improving people’s lives, and are honored to contribute to the collective and social efforts that aim to fight cancer among children in KSA.”

Almekkawi stated that: “The cooperation and coordination with charitable organizations and institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is essential to improve the quality of charitable and humanitarian work, and to reach the largest number of beneficiaries in the country. Our memorandum with Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association reinforces the connection and communication between both sides, as we look forward to fortifying this relation by supporting works of charity in the Kingdom.”

Reem AlHegelan, General Manager of Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association, said that: “We seek from this agreement to enhance the quality of community services provided, invest further in research, achieve better results, and increase charitable activities. Our purpose is to support children with cancer and improve their chances of recovery. We’ll be also working on consolidating all humanitarian efforts in KSA and setting a general framework to organize them in a way that best serves the strategic goals and sets the Kingdom as a world leader in charitable and humanitarian services.”

AlHegelan extended her gratitude to Tim Hortons for its continuous and long-term dedication in supporting the efforts of Sanad Children’s Cancer Support Association and expressed her eagerness to collaborate within the framework of this new memorandum to save and improve people’s lives. She stressed that the signing of this memorandum will enhance the means of cooperation and help in achieving the association’s goals and vision to serve children with cancer.

Tim Hortons is Canada’s largest coffee chain and started its international expansion in 2011 with the UAE’s first Café & Bake Shop opening in Dubai by the iconic retail group Apparel. Since then, global expansion has become an increasing priority for the brand across many countries. Over recent years the brand has introduced its well-loved offerings to guests beyond Canada and the United States. Currently Tim Hortons has over 5,100 restaurants across 14 countries and regions, including the Middle East, China, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and the Philippines. Today, under AG Café, the brand has expanded in the GCC to reach more than 220 locations and recently opened its first restaurant in India.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×