How This Pizza Company Fundraises for Lymphoma

Started in 1944, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding research, finding cures, and supporting access to treatment for patients with blood cancer. Creating LLS was initially prompted by the death of a 16-year-old boy in 1944 and the grief felt by his family; the boy’s parents thus decided to develop an organization in their son’s name that focused on fundraising and education.

At the time, there were no effective treatments for blood cancers, and this family wanted to help prevent other families from going through what they did. The mission of LLS is to “cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.” In 2017, the organization invested over 40.7 million dollars into funding research. The organization currently has more than 300 research projects, and a restaurant called PizzaRev has been doing its part to help LLS accomplish their goals.

PizzaRev is a chain that was started in L.A. in the year 2012 and currently, it has spread to over 40 different locations. Apart from serving delicious pizza to their customers, PizzaRev is also known to give their customers various opportunities to support good causes. They advertise on their website, “Let’s raise some dough.” They are passionate about making a difference in the community and are also dedicated to helping and supporting their patrons’ causes as well as local committees. There is a section where one can submit information for a fundraiser online. The fundraising process works by the supporters mentioning the name of the organization at the register and then PizzaRev takes 20 percent of their proceeds and donates it to the organization.

The company is very passionate about starting fundraisers at their restaurants. They are a partner of the LSS, and in August, they raised funds for lymphoma by being part of their campaign called “Light the Night,” which ran for the entire month of August. For every dollar customers donated to LLS, they received a one-dollar voucher to be used at any PizzaRev outlet. They are also inviting the campaign’s team to host fundraising events at any of their locations, and they continued with the donations for the month of September last year as well.

In 2016, they started the Blood Awareness Campaign, during which they collected donations from more than 20 of their locations in Los Angeles.

Every year, the LLS is known to host the Light the Night campaign, which is a series of fundraising events whose main aim is to bring light to the darkness of cancer by carrying out research and finding new treatments. There are many campaigns during Light the Night which are hosted throughout the year, and they focus on raising awareness as well as funds for those suffering from blood cancer. There are also walks held by this campaign all throughout Canada as well as the U.S., and anyone can register to participate for free, but they are encouraged to donate to help raise funds.

Random Acts of Lightness is another campaign that is known to be a beacon of hope for those battling blood cancer issues. The concept is very similar to the Make a Wish Foundation. This campaign aims to bring local heroes and celebrities to meet people who are in need of some support and cheer. There are also activities held such as cooking competitions, basketball games, etc.

Various groups and organizations have come forward to partner with LLS. This not only means raising more funds, but also reminds the community that they are not alone in this fight. When a loved one is suffering from cancer, the family as a whole is hit hard, and in such times, the support of their community matters a great deal.