Papa John's extending fundraiser to Friday for family of fallen deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Papa John's Pizza is extending its fundraiser for the family of fallen Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal to Friday amid overwhelming support.
The initial fundraiser, where the chain offered to donate profits from its 78 greater Houston-area locations to the deputy's family, kicked off Tuesday.
But so many people showed up, the company extended it. Papa John's apologized for the longer than normal wait times, acknowledging that some orders took between two to four hours.
"Please be patient as we are getting out orders as fast as we can. Your support has been tremendous!" the restaurant wrote on Facebook.
You can make sure your donation goes toward the family by using the promo code HOUSTONCARES.
"All locations, from Huntsville to Galveston, from Katy to Baytown, and every location in-between are participating," the company said earlier this week.
The president of Papa John's personally delivered pizzas to the sheriff's office as they worked to finalize the arrangements for Deputy Dhaliwal's funeral Wednesday.
The company says it has received a number of phone calls from people wanting to donate to the fundraiser.
"They rate things on how many people hit our Facebook page. In less than one day, one million people hit it. Even my wife is in the restaurant making pizza. We have everybody we can trying to make pizza right now. It's neat to see the community come together. We're going to do the best we can to make as many as we can. But I'm telling you to have a million people respond that quick that means he was a very well-liked individual. We're happy to be a part of this," said Keith Sullins, president of Papa John's Houston.
This is just the latest show of support for the deputy, who was beloved in the community.
The Popeyes restaurant located at 9210 Barker Cypress Rd. is also donating all of its proceeds on Wednesday to the Dhaliwal family.
It's unclear if other Houston-area Popeyes restaurants are also participating.
Before the Houston Texans' game against the Carolina Panthers, the team held a moment of silence to honor the deputy's service.
Deputy Dhaliwal was shot in the back of the head during a traffic stop in northwest Harris County on Friday. He died from his injuries.
READ MORE ON DEPUTY DHALIWAL'S LEGACY:
Sheriff remembers slain Deputy Dhaliwal in one-on-one with ABC13
Many share how Deputy Dhaliwal's service impacted their lives'
Grief through bubbles: Mourners honor fallen deputy
