RACING TOWARDS MORE THAN JUST THE FINISH LINE. A GROUP IS PUTTING NEARLY TWO DECADES OF DEDICATION INTO ENSURING CHILDREN IN THE HOSPITAL HAVE COMFORTS FROM THEIR HOME. AS WE HONOR 70 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. KCRA 3’S ERIN HEFT BRINGS US THOSE TAKING STRIDES TOWARDS MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT SACRAMENTO’S DONUT DASH. IT’S IN THE SMALL MOMENTS WHEN YOU REALIZE SOMETHING GREATER IS HAPPENING. IN WHAT BEGAN AS AN IDEA. NOW HAS OVER 2200 PEOPLE TAKING STRIDE AFTER STRIDE, CHANGING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN IN THE HOSPITALS ACROSS THE REGION. I LITERALLY HAD KIDS THAT WE WOULD PLAY VIDEO GAMES EVERY TIME I WAS THERE, AND IF WE DIDN’T HAVE A CONSOLE FOR THEM, THEY DIDN’T GET TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES UNTIL ZACH. SIMPLY PUT, HE’S THE REASON EVERYONE IS HERE. NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO, HE WAS VOLUNTEERING IN PEDIATRIC UNITS WHEN HE REALIZED EVERYTHING COULD JUST BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER. I NEVER ANTICIPATED THIS. I THINK THEY CALLED IT A DELICIOUS MISTAKE. AND THAT’S WHAT IT WAS. IT’S JUST IT GREW INTO THIS THING OF LIKE. AND IT’S OBVIOUSLY NOT A MISTAKE, BUT IT’S JUST WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT A DELICIOUS MISTAKE THAT TURNED INTO SACRAMENTO’S DONUT DASH. DASH. A RACE WHERE PEOPLE RUN TWO MILES, EAT FOUR DONUTS, THEN RACE THE TWO MILES BACK IN WHICH EACH DOLLAR RAISED PER RACER GOES TOWARDS BETTERING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AT BOTH UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER AND SUTTER HEALTH SACRAMENTO. AND FOR SOME INSIGHT, THIS STARTED WITH LESS THAN 30 PEOPLE WHO RAISED 1500 BUCKS FOR A FEW XBOXES TO HELP BRING SMILES TO KIDS ADMITTED INTO THE HOSPITAL. FAST FORWARD TO NOW. IT’S BEEN 18 YEARS OF MILES AND PASTRIES, AND THIS GROUP WILL BE HITTING A MONUMENTAL MILESTONE $2 MILLION WITH ZACH AND DONUT DASH DOES FOR OUR HOSPITAL IS PROVIDE FUN. THEY GIVE IPADS, THEY GIVE TECHNOLOGY. SO IF WE NEED COMPUTERS, WE NEED GAMING TABLES FOR OUR TEEN ROOM. WE NEED BEDSIDE GAMING FOR KIDS THAT CAN’T COME TO THE PLAYROOMS. THAT’S WHAT THIS EVENT PROVIDES. THE DONUT DASH HAS PARTNERED WITH US FOR 18 YEARS NOW AND HAS DONATED OVER $1 MILLION TO OUR PROGRAM, AND IT DIRECTLY IMPACTS CHILDREN WHO COME THROUGH THE DOORS. THIS ALMOST SERVES AS A REUNION FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES. YOU KNOW, ON THE BACK OF THE SHIRTS, WE PUT SOME OF THE KIDS THAT HAVE THAT HAVE PASSED AWAY. WE DO IT IN MEMORY OF AND THEIR KIDS. WE DO IN HONOR OF, BECAUSE THEY’VE GONE THROUGH A DIAGNOSIS, THEY’RE HEALED UP ENOUGH TO COME OUT AND PARTICIPATE IN. THE FAMILIES COME OUT. SO IT BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FAMILIES TO REUNITE WITH THE CARETAKERS, THE DOCTORS AND NURSES. THEY’RE ALL OUT HERE. AND SO A LOT OF TIMES IT’S LIKE, SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT THE DONUT. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT THE DONUT ASH. HEALTH IS EVER EVOLVING, BUT WHAT’S STEADY IS THE NEED FOR SUPPORT AND UNWAVERING DEDICATION. THIS GROUP HAS SHOWN MAKING THE HOSPITAL A PLACE WHERE COMFORT CAN BE FOUND. A PLACE WHERE PARENTS CAN TAKE A BREATH AND CHILDREN HAVE SECURITIES FROM HOME. THE NEEDS NEVER STOP. THERE’S ALWAYS NEW STUFF NEEDED IN THE HOSPITAL, SO WE JUST KEEP DOING IT. IN SACRAMENTO, ERIN HEFT KCRA THREE NEWS.
Sacramento’s Donut Dash races for more than the finish line, nearing $2 million for hospitalized kids
An event where each dollar raised helps fund Child Life Programs serving hospitalized children at Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento and UC Davis Children’s Hospital
Updated: 7:46 PM PST Mar 7, 2026
Every March in Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood, the Donut Dash turns a simple route into something bigger than a race: a community push to bring comfort, play and normalcy to children spending long days and sometimes months in the hospital.What started as a small idea has grown into an annual event drawing more than 2,200 participants. Runners, joggers and walkers begin in Land Park and travel two miles to Marie’s Donuts, then head two miles back to the start/finish area. Along the way, participants can choose their “dash”: four donuts in the competitive division, three donuts in the noncompetitive division, six donut holes, or none at all.Behind the miles and pastries is Zack Wandell, the event’s creator and organizer. Nearly two decades ago, Wandell volunteered in pediatric units and noticed how small comforts could make a difficult hospital stay feel a little more like home.“I literally had kids that we would play video games every time I was there, and if we didn’t have a consul for them, they didn’t get to play video games,” Wandell said.He never expected the idea to take off.“I never anticipated this… somebody said that years ago they called it a delicious mistake,” Wandell said laughing. “It grew into this thing… who would’ve thought?”That “delicious mistake” became Sacramento’s Donut Dash, an event where each dollar raised helps fund Child Life Programs serving hospitalized children at Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento and UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Donated funds support programs such as Beads of Courage and Music Therapy, along with resources that help kids cope and stay connected to childhood: 24/7 movie channels, virtual reality and augmented reality tools, video game machines, iPads, art projects, games, toys, movies, video games and exercise equipment.Michelle Tafoya, executive director of development at UC Davis Medical Center, said the event fills a need hospitals can’t always meet on their own.“What Zack and Donut Dash does for our hospital is provide fun,” Tafoya said. “They give iPads, they give technology… if we need gaming tables for our teen room… bedside gaming for kids who can’t come to the play rooms—that’s what this event provides.”The Donut Dash began in 2009. Donut Dash 501(c)(3) was formed in 2010 to raise funds for Sutter’s Child Life Program, and the organization expanded in 2016 to include UC Davis Children’s Hospital as a beneficiary. Early on, the effort was modest, fewer than 30 people raised about $1,500 to buy a few Xbox consoles for pediatric patients. Now, after 18 years of running and fundraising, organizers say the group is approaching a major milestone: $2 million raised.At Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento, Sara Anderson, manager of integrated therapies, said the partnership has had a direct impact on patients and families.“The Donut Dash has partnered with us for 18 years and has donated over $1 million to our program and it directly impacts children who come through the doors,” Anderson said. In January 2024, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento named the “Donut Dash Pediatrics Unit” on the second floor in recognition of $1,000,000 donated to its Child Life Program. UC Davis Children’s Hospital also recognized the impact, naming the Davis Tower seventh-floor playroom “Powered by Donut Dash” after $500,000 donated to its Child Life Program.Overall, Donut Dash 501(c)(3) reports donating $1,834,500 through December 2025 to Sacramento-area Child Life Programs and nonprofits, including cash and in-kind contributions raised through the Donut Dash and related events such as the Duck Dash and Scoop Scoot. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Every March in Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood, the Donut Dash turns a simple route into something bigger than a race: a community push to bring comfort, play and normalcy to children spending long days and sometimes months in the hospital.
What started as a small idea has grown into an annual event drawing more than 2,200 participants. Runners, joggers and walkers begin in Land Park and travel two miles to Marie’s Donuts, then head two miles back to the start/finish area. Along the way, participants can choose their “dash”: four donuts in the competitive division, three donuts in the noncompetitive division, six donut holes, or none at all.
Behind the miles and pastries is Zack Wandell, the event’s creator and organizer. Nearly two decades ago, Wandell volunteered in pediatric units and noticed how small comforts could make a difficult hospital stay feel a little more like home.
“I literally had kids that we would play video games every time I was there, and if we didn’t have a consul for them, they didn’t get to play video games,” Wandell said.
He never expected the idea to take off.
“I never anticipated this… somebody said that years ago they called it a delicious mistake,” Wandell said laughing. “It grew into this thing… who would’ve thought?”
That “delicious mistake” became Sacramento’s Donut Dash, an event where each dollar raised helps fund Child Life Programs serving hospitalized children at Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento and UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Donated funds support programs such as Beads of Courage and Music Therapy, along with resources that help kids cope and stay connected to childhood: 24/7 movie channels, virtual reality and augmented reality tools, video game machines, iPads, art projects, games, toys, movies, video games and exercise equipment.
Michelle Tafoya, executive director of development at UC Davis Medical Center, said the event fills a need hospitals can’t always meet on their own.
“What Zack and Donut Dash does for our hospital is provide fun,” Tafoya said. “They give iPads, they give technology… if we need gaming tables for our teen room… bedside gaming for kids who can’t come to the play rooms—that’s what this event provides.”
The Donut Dash began in 2009. Donut Dash 501(c)(3) was formed in 2010 to raise funds for Sutter’s Child Life Program, and the organization expanded in 2016 to include UC Davis Children’s Hospital as a beneficiary. Early on, the effort was modest, fewer than 30 people raised about $1,500 to buy a few Xbox consoles for pediatric patients. Now, after 18 years of running and fundraising, organizers say the group is approaching a major milestone: $2 million raised.
At Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento, Sara Anderson, manager of integrated therapies, said the partnership has had a direct impact on patients and families.
“The Donut Dash has partnered with us for 18 years and has donated over $1 million to our program and it directly impacts children who come through the doors,” Anderson said.
In January 2024, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento named the “Donut Dash Pediatrics Unit” on the second floor in recognition of $1,000,000 donated to its Child Life Program. UC Davis Children’s Hospital also recognized the impact, naming the Davis Tower seventh-floor playroom “Powered by Donut Dash” after $500,000 donated to its Child Life Program.
Overall, Donut Dash 501(c)(3) reports donating $1,834,500 through December 2025 to Sacramento-area Child Life Programs and nonprofits, including cash and in-kind contributions raised through the Donut Dash and related events such as the Duck Dash and Scoop Scoot.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel