KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have an entire “Kingdom” of fans, but the people most thankful for the team may be staying in three different Cherry Street homes atop Hospital Hill.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City operates three houses with 87 rooms, giving roughly 7,000 families each year a free place to stay while their child is in the hospital. And over the past five years, the Chiefs have leveraged their popularity to raise more than $1.2 million for the charity.
Every Red Friday, the Chiefs sell a flag for a minimum donation of $5. Net proceeds from those sales go to Ronald McDonald House Charities in Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri.
“These are families who are going through some of the most important times of their lives and we can't serve them well, with such love, without the love and support of Chiefs Kingdom,” said Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City CEO Tami Greenberg. “We are really excited for Red Friday. It's when it all comes together.”
The 2019 version of the flag goes on sale at 5 a.m. Friday, September 6. You can purchase the flag at 135 McDonald’s restaurants around Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Joseph, or at one of 55 locations near Springfield. The flags are also for sale online, at Hy-Vee and Community America Credit Union.
“Those dollars are put to work for families with sick kids all day every day. It's love in action,” Greenberg said.
Bobbi Bond has seen the love in action. Her 13-month-old son, Kaulder, was born with a heart defect. He’s had two surgeries on his heart and spent the past two months at Children’s Mercy Hospital.
Instead of paying for a hotel or driving back and forth to Pittsburg, Kansas, Bond stays at one of the three Ronald McDonald houses for free while Kaulder is admitted at the nearby hospital.
“It’s a lifesaver to be able to be so close to your child and not have to go back and forth to home,” Bond said. “You’re able to get a meal, they provide laundry, they help you in any way they can.”
To learn more about the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, click here.
