Sporting Kansas City teamed up with Children's Mercy Kansas City to deliver the club's brand new secondary jersey and Kindness Champion scarves to students and staff at 42 local schools in 14 districts to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week from Feb. 14-20 with a special K.I.T.S. (Kindness In The Schools) initiative.
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Alfred Fairfax, Arrowhead, Banneker, Bluejacket-Flint, Comanche, Congress, Dayton Creek, East Antioch, Ervin, Forest Spring, Gloria Willis, Graden, Grain Valley South, Harmony, Junction, Leawood, Nieman, Norfleet, Oak Grove, Overland Trail, Oxford, Prairie Star, Prairie Creek, Prairie Point, Renner, Richard Warren, Rising Hill, Rising Star, Rosehill, Southeast, Spring Branch, Spring Hill Elementary, Spring Hill Middle, St. Paul's Episcopal, St. Thomas Moore, Timber Sage, Trailwood, Valley Park, Welborn, West Park, Wolf Creek, Woodland Spring
Each school surprised two individuals with co-branded scarves and Sporting jerseys customized with “Kindness” above the number 24 on the back of the kits as a special thank you for their kind character as part of the RED CARD anti-bullying campaign.
New for 2024, fifth graders at Rising Star Elementary in the Shawnee Mission School District and Southeast Elementary in the Park Hill School District each assembled Happy Kits used in a variety of areas throughout Children’s Mercy Kansas City to help patients and families feel welcome during their visit.
Individuals who wish to make a donation to benefit young patients and their families at Children's Mercy Kansas City, as well as front-line staff providing world-class clinical care, can do so online at childrensmercy.org/helpKCkids or by calling 1-833-KC-GIVES.
Partners since 2016, Sporting Kansas City and Children’s Mercy Kansas City launched the RED CARD campaign in 2018 to unite local communities to take a stance against one of the most significant social issues impacting children nationwide. The innovative campaign is designed to build awareness and empower youth and adults so they can help prevent and intervene in bullying.
Inspiring individuals to “call it when you see it,” the RED CARD programming uses soccer’s red card as a figurative visual tool to highlight instances of bullying in schools and other public settings while also encouraging positive behavior.
Through school assemblies and community-wide messaging, the RED CARD campaign aims to reach children, parents, teachers and coaches who have daily opportunities to create supportive environments and stop bullying in its tracks. A key component of the initiative is helping the community understand what bullying is, how to identify it and what to do about it.
Sporting has supported the RED CARD campaign through social media promotion, video segments on match broadcasts, integrations at youth soccer clinics and in-stadium activations at Children’s Mercy Park. For more information and to utilize online resources, visit RedCardKC.com.
