As our community honors the Kansas City Chiefs making another trip to the Super Bowl, we also pause to remember another way our community came together one year ago by remembering the lives lost and the many others injured when gunfire erupted following last year’s Super Bowl Parade Rally.
Within 24 hours of the tragedy, United Way of Greater Kansas City partnered with the Chiefs to establish the KC Strong fund. Over the course of several weeks, more than $2M was raised from 4,000+ donors. Following an extensive victim verification process with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, and a community impact advisory review, every penny raised was distributed on June 27, with funds supporting 20 gunshot victims and 14 community nonprofits working in the areas of violence prevention, mental health, and support for first responders.
“We launched KC Strong as a way to help our community heal and build resiliency,” said United Way of Greater Kansas City president and CEO Chris Rosson. “We know the investments made have made an incredible impact that will continue to be felt for generations to come.”
In December, United Way asked the 14 community nonprofits awarded grant funding via KC Strong to submit impact statements. Each of them have shared powerful stories about the life-change made possible because of this investment.
Here, you can read the full report of their impact statements, which also includes a survivor’s story and links to in-depth profiles on two of the grantees.