The Chiefs and the Kansas City community raised $1 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City (RMHC-KC) through flag sales during Red Friday – Kickoff Edition, the 29th edition of Red Friday on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Over the past eight years, Red Friday sales have raised $2.8 million to help RMHC-KC continue its mission of keeping families close in times of sickness and need.
Through a partnership with McDonald's, the specially designed Super Bowl LIV Champions edition of the flag was sold in all Kansas City- and St. Joseph-area McDonald's locations and Kansas City Hy-Vee stores for a minimum donation of $5. For the fourth year in a row, the flags were also sold online, with this year's online sales nearly tripling last year's online efforts. The million-dollar donation marks the highest Red Friday flag sales contribution since the club began selling them prior to the start of the 2014 season.
"Red Friday is the most important day of the year for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, and this year, more than ever, we really needed Chiefs Kingdom to show up in support of sick kids and their families. And show up they did," RMHC-KC CEO Tami Greenberg said. "It's extraordinary that this generous and caring community came together to make such a meaningful donation to RMHC-KC, all through $5 flags! Red Friday is a testament to the strong leadership and commitment of Clark Hunt and the Hunt family, the entire Chiefs organization (on and off the playing field), our corporate partners – especially McDonald's – and the giving spirit of Chiefs fans near and far. During all the challenges of 2020, RMHC-KC never stopped keeping sick kids and families close to the medical care they need, and with this support from Red Friday we will keep going strong."
With this year's donation, more than $2.8 million has been directed to assisting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City as they reduce the burden of childhood illness on children and their families by providing a "home away from home" while the children are receiving medical care in Kansas City-area hospitals. For more information on Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, please visit www.rmhckc.org/.
"We were cautiously optimistic about our goals for Red Friday this year. Despite the challenges, we knew we had to find a way to hit that seven-figure amount for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, and Chiefs Kingdom helped us do that," Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. "Year after year we've seen the people of Kansas City, and Chiefs fans throughout the country, step up to show their amazing support for this team through Red Friday, as well as show their appreciation for the work that RMHC-KC does here in our community. This was certainly the most unique flag we've done in the past seven years as it was our Super Bowl LIV Champions flag, and we hope to #RunItBack, have another champions flag, and raise even more next year."
For the fourth-consecutive year, Red Friday – Kickoff Edition also headed south for a stop in Springfield, Missouri. In alignment with Red Friday in Kansas City, Red Friday flags were available at 55 McDonald's locations in Springfield and surrounding areas, as well as the Springfield Hy-Vee, for a minimum donation of $5. All flags in Springfield were also sold out, generating nearly $65,000 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks. Red Friday – Kickoff Edition flags were also sold at nine Topeka-area McDonald's location, with nearly $25,000 in proceeds benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas.
Red Friday honors the long-standing tradition of selling team-themed publications around the city to raise money for local charities started by Chiefs Founder Lamar Hunt and the Chiefs Red Coaters. Since the inception of Red Friday, newspaper, magazine and flag sales have raised more than $3.3 million for local charities, with an emphasis on assisting youth in need.
