Sporting Kansas City and The Victory Project, the club’s foundation established in 2013 to help children battling cancer, is celebrating Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with a series of community events throughout September, highlighted by “Kick Childhood Cancer” matchday initiatives held in conjunction with Sporting Kansas City home games at Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 21 and 29.
On Sept. 9, The Victory Project hosted the fifth annual Sporting Invitational golf tournament at Loch Lloyd Country Club. The event saw participants play the 18-hole Tom Watson Signature Design golf course alongside Sporting Kansas City players and executives while competing in numerous contests throughout the course. The Sporting Invitational and last month’s Victory Gala—held at the iconic Muehlebach Hotel in downtown Kansas City—collectively raised over $590,000 to further The Victory Project’s mission of uniting supporters, players and staff to make a tangible difference in the lives of children with cancer.
On Tuesday, select Sporting Kansas City players will visit patients receiving care at Children’s Mercy Hospital to play games and create arts and crafts. Sporting players have made monthly appearances at Children’s Mercy for the last several years, supporting and interacting with children and their families.
Sporting and The Victory Project will hold their sixth annual Soccer Clinic on Wednesday at world-class Children’s Mercy Park. The interactive clinic is open to boys and girls ages 5-13, featuring on-field coaching from Sporting KC players and staff, and all funds raised will go directly to The Victory Project. Sign-up for the soccer clinic is now open at victorykc.org/soccer-clinic-2019.
On Friday, Scooter's Coffee locations in Lenexa, Kansas (7741 Quivira Rd.) and Shawnee, Kansas (11002 W. 75th St.) will celebrate a Day of Giving by donating all proceeds to The Victory Project in a continuation of its longstanding partnership with the foundation.
Sporting Kansas City players will amplify the Kick Childhood Cancer theme when the club hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park, wearing Kick Childhood Cancer training tops before the match. The limited-edition training top and the Kick Childhood Cancer scarf of the match will be available to purchase that night at Children’s Mercy Park. Ticket holders can also buy the jersey and the scarf via matchday pre-orders at SportingStyle.com. The Victory Project will also honor more than 50 families the foundation has assisted during a special pregame ceremony on the field.
During the game, each player’s match jersey will feature custom-designed numbers featuring the childhood cancer awareness ribbon.
Both Sporting home matches this month, including the Sept. 29 contest against the Portland Timbers, will be part of MLS WORKS’ league-wide Kick Childhood Cancer campaign featuring special gameday elements such as the Gold adidas Nativo Questra match ball plus gold corner flags, goal nets, armbands and commemorative jersey patches.
- Tickets: Sporting KC vs. Colorado Rapids on Sept. 21
- Tickets: Sporting KC vs. Portland Timbers on Sept. 29
The Victory Project will also grant two Sporting Wishes this month to children with secondary cancer diagnoses. Fourteen-year-old Emily will travel to Disneyland in California with her family, while 10-year-old Jenna will venture with her family to Disneyworld in Florida.
Supporters are invited to participate in Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by donating blood at savealifenow.org to help counter the current shortage of blood available to children with cancer. Sporting fans will also have the opportunity to participate in The Victory Project’s online auction running from Saturday to Sept. 27, with a variety of autographed Sporting KC merchandise, framed memorabilia and VIP experiences up for bidding.
Lastly, fans are encouraged to support the league-wide #KickChildhoodCancer campaign on social media. For each post that includes the hashtag, MLS will donate $1 to Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research.
