The annual Papa John’s Pizza Dreams for Kids Day will go on hiatus for 2019, with a goal of rebranding for 2020, organizers announced on Wednesday.
The annual fundraiser for children in the Okanagan with severe physical disabilities or life-threatening illnesses was in its fifth year. In 2018, the event raised $25,000 for the Sunshine Foundation of Canada.
According to the Sunshine Foundation, Papa John’s Dreams for Kids Days in Kelowna and West Kelowna have raised more than $150,000 since 2015. The event was annually held on the last Wednesday in April.
This year, however, the Sunshine Foundation announced that it will be airlifting children to Disneyland from Vancouver, and not Kelowna.
In the coming year, Papa John’s says it plans to hold a community fundraiser for a yet-to-be-chosen local charity.
WATCH BELOW (Aired April 25, 2018): Dreams for Kids Day, an annual Okanagan fundraiser
“Our team is committed to giving back and we will take the next year to work with our partners to pull it all together,” said Geoff Linquist, owner of Papa John’s locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna.
“Our giving mandate has always been to have the funds directly benefit our local community and supporting Sunshine Dream Programs was fitting when the DreamLift program was planned for Kelowna. We have been proud of our part in bringing individual Sunshine Dreams to local kids over the past four years and look forward to what the future holds for the event.”