Sporting Kansas City and The Victory Project, the club’s foundation established in 2013 to help children battling cancer, will celebrate Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with a series of community events in September leading up to the team’s highly anticipated Childhood Cancer Awareness Match on Sept. 30.
On Monday, The Victory Project hosted the third annual Sporting Invitational golf tournament at Loch Lloyd. The four-person scramble featured participants playing the 18-hole Tom Watson Signature Design course alongside Sporting Kansas City players and executives, in addition to numerous contests throughout the course. All funds from the day benefitted The Victory Project, which has now raised over $1.5 million to further the foundation’s mission to unite supporters, players and staff to make a tangible difference in the lives of children with cancer and their families.
The Victory Project hosts numerous fundraising opportunities, including this week's online auction that generated $840 for a custom MLS match ball from last year’s Childhood Cancer Awareness game signed by Sporting Kansas City players, and also partners with local organizations to raise additional awareness and financial support for the cause.
The Victory Project has partnered with Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer since 2012 to produce annual Year of Hope calendars featuring 12 local childhood cancer heroes pictured alongside 12 Sporting Kansas City players. This month in the 2018 calendar features Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler and 14-year-old Braden Hofen, who has beaten cancer three times since the age of three. The 2019 calendars are available to order online at BradensHope.org.
On Sept. 15, Children’s Mercy Park will host the fifth annual KC Cares for Kids Walk to raise money for valuable patient and family-centered programming in the Children’s Mercy Cancer Center, as well as groundbreaking oncology research that leads to better treatments and outcomes. The event will welcome more than 1,000 current and former patients, families and friends for an outdoor festival with games, activities and crafts, as well as a one-mile walk around the stadium and a special ceremony to honor all who have been diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder.
On Sept. 18, Sporting Kansas City’s Tim Melia, Seth Sinovic and Graham Zusi will spend time with patients receiving care at Children’s Mercy and deliver Blankets of Encouragement to children with cancer during their monthly hospital visit. Last week, the trio were recognized by Children’s Mercy as Volunteers of the Month for their ongoing commitment to hospitalized youth.
On Sept. 19, the Swope Park Rangers will be offering exclusive SPR beanies to the first 250 fans who make a $5 or greater donation to The Victory Project during the team’s USL regular season match-up with San Antonio FC at Children’s Mercy Park. Tickets for the game are available to purchase in advance online at SeatGeek.com.
On Sept. 21, Scooter’s Coffee – an associate sponsor of The Victory Project – will celebrate the grand opening of their new location at 77th and Quivira in Lenexa, Kansas, with a Day of Giving by donating 100 percent of proceeds to The Victory Project. The event will be the seventh Day of Giving in a season-long collaboration that also includes #CoffeeKicksCancer days when 20% of proceeds from all area Kansas City locations are donated to the foundation.
On Sept. 22, The Victory Project will host the fifth annual blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Budweiser Brew House at Children’s Mercy Park. Nearly 100% of cancer patients receive blood products and The Victory Project has teamed up with the Community Blood Center, which serves hospitals in the Kansas City area as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Donors can use the sponsor code “victoryproject” to sign up online and all who participate will receive an exclusive “I Bleed Sporting Blue” shirt.
On Sept. 29, the Kansas City Cauldron supporters group will host the organization’s second annual charity footgolf tournament at the Heart of America Golf Course in Swope Park featuring MLS All-Stars Ilie Sanchez and Jimmy Conrad. All proceeds from event registrations and raffle will benefit The Victory Project.
On Sept. 30, Sporting Kansas City will host the club’s fourth annual Childhood Cancer Awareness match, highlighted by The Victory Project welcoming more than 50 families the foundation has assisted for a special halftime ceremony and The Victory Project granting a Sporting Wish for a 19-year-old battling cancer since 2015.
The Victory Project will also continue a tradition which has now touched the lives of over 100 families since starting in 2013 by honoring a child with cancer at every Sporting KC home match. On Sept. 30, a 14-year-old from Topeka with acute myeloid leukemia will be welcomed into the Victory Suite at Children’s Mercy Park and recognized pre-game as part of the VIP experience.
The match will also be part of MLS WORKS’ League-wide Kick Childhood Cancer campaign featuring numerous special gameday elements:
- Gold adidas Nativo 2018 match ball (pictured above)
- Gold-themed corner flags, goal nets, captain’s armbands, commemorative jersey patches and custom-designed jersey numbers featuring the childhood cancer awareness ribbon
- Limited-edition Kick Childhood Cancer scarves and t-shirts worn by players, coaches and referees during pre-game
- Limited-edition apparel, including lapel pins and plush toys, available to purchase at MLSstore.com
Following the match, The Victory Project will auction off the jerseys worn by all 18 Sporting Kansas City players during the game and will also conduct a live auction during FOX Sports Kansas City’s broadcast of Sporting Kansas City’s next game against the LA Galaxy on Oct. 6.
Visit VictoryKC.org and SportingKC.com for more information on upcoming events, including Celebrity Bartending with Sporting KC players at No Other Pub on Oct. 4 and Pitch Black presented by Audi at Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 12. Funds raised from both events will benefit The Victory Project, and The Victory Project Humanitarian of the Year will be presented at Pitch Black.
