Papa John’s Dreams for Kids day raises lots of dough

UPDATE:  The second annual Papa John’s Pizza Dreams for Kids raised $46,647 in support of The Sunshine Kids and Make Dreams Come True.

“The response from the community was astounding,” says Geoff Linquist, owner of the Kelowna and West Kelowna Papa John’s locations and community champion for the Papa John’s Pizza Dreams for Kids Day.

Local businesses and members of emergency services ordered multiple pizzas in support of the campaign. Regional sports teams also got on board.

“We would like to thank Papa John’s Pizza from the bottom of our hearts,” says Nancy Sutherland, CEO of The Sunshine Foundation. “We could not do what we do without the support of community partners like Geoff and his team and we are deeply moved by the spirit of all the Papa John’s employees and customers who opened their hearts to Sunshine yesterday. You’ve made a big difference and we’re looking forward to making many more dreams come true next year.”

For the second year in a row, some local pizza outlets are throwing their support behind The Sunshine Foundation of Canada, the group that organizes Sunshine DreamLifts for kids with disabilities and children battling potentially fatal illnesses.

Wednesday five Papa John’s Pizza stores in B.C., including locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna, are pledging to give “proceeds and all staff wages” to the foundation.

The owner of the Okanagan Papa John’s locations says they’ve even brought on extra staff for the event.

Read More: Disney DreamLift trills Okanagan children

The money raised will help fund a DreamLift flight to Disneyland. The most recent local flight was last December, in which 72 children from the Thompson-Okanagan flew from Kelowna to Disneyland and back in one day.

All of the children chosen for the trip face physical or medical challenges, and the tour of the Magic Kingdom is meant to give them a day of fun, away from their daily struggles.