SCRANTON -- Jane Lininger sat down to lunch with her son and granddaughter at Pizza by Pappas in Scranton. But this is more than just a lunch for Jane who's a rare survivor of pancreatic cancer and this week her pizza will help to make sure more people like her live to have lunch with their grandchildren.
"I couldn't even tell you, I couldn't wait to come. To have a grandchild is beyond gravy, it's beyond anything I ever thought. I never even thought I'd see the day that they would graduate from high school. And I'm still going on," said Lininger.
The folks at Pizza by Pappas thought, because of people like Jane, pancreatic cancer research was a worthy cause. So, this week they've welcomed volunteers from the pancreatic cancer action network to educate customers about the disease. The employees are sticking to what they know best, making pizza and raising money for each tray sold.
"It really means a lot to us because in our community we really need a lot of awareness and we need to raise funds for research because this cancer is devastating," said Teresa Gerbowski, a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
To put it in perspective, purple ribbons hang all over the restaurant, 120 of them to represent how many people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each day. Pizza by Pappas expects a few thousand customers to come in and check out the display and hopefully, buy a pizza.
Pizza by Pappas is holding the fundraiser through Wednesday. Half of all the proceeds from each pizza sold goes right to the pancreatic cancer action network. How much each individual raises is right here on the receipt.
"It seems like it's an underfunded charity that really needs help and it's an important charity. It didn't seem like there were a lot of charities for it when we started this three years ago. There's a few more now but it's something that really needs the funding," said
Bill Sheakoski, Pizza by Pappas co-owner.
In the past, Pizza by Pappas has raised about $9,000 for pancreatic cancer research. All to make sure people like jane get to enjoy more lunches.