29 Jan Tami’s Blog: The April 8 KCMO Vote: Behind the Headlines

Posted at 13:59h in News, Tami's Blog by

You may have noticed, we’ve been in the news lately:

It’s true: we urgently need to expand. Why? Because we’re turning away families. Too many of them. We were too full to serve nearly 700 families last year.

So we need more rooms… Should be a no-brainer, right? We raise funds from generous donors, we hire an architect and a builder, and we cut the ribbon. If only it were that easy.

We’ve expanded before; we know what it takes: A lot of hard work, and a lot of support. This time? It’s more complicated, and we need all hands on deck—so I’m offering an inside look at what’s happening behind the headlines, and what it will take to go from “hopes to expand in Kansas City” to “expands in Kansas City!”

Our Board Chair, Michael Chalfie, and I at City Hall.

Here’s why this time is different:

  • We have three Houses on Cherry Street, only two of which we own. The biggest, our 41-bedroom Longfellow House, offers the best potential for a meaningful expansion to serve more families—but we don’t own the House because it sits on land owned by KCMO’s Department of Parks and Recreation. It doesn’t make sense to renovate and expand a House we don’t own, and the process has been complex!
  • In order to move towards ownership of our Longfellow Ronald McDonald House (and the land on which we sit), we first navigated through all the proper channels with the KCMO Parks & Recreation Department. We’re so grateful that they unanimously agreed to endorse this process—which includes our agreement to maintain 1.5 acres of greenspace for publicly accessible park-like use.
  • Next, we needed City Council authorization to move forward, and we were delighted with their unanimous approval just a few weeks ago!
  • Finally, since all park land is owned by the city, it can’t be sold to us without taxpayer approval via a vote—so we’re preparing for the KCMO election on April 8, when Kansas City residents can show up to the polls and help us help more families with sick kids!
  • This is the actual ballot question: Should the City of Kansas City remove from its park system approximately 3.42 acres of Longfellow Park generally located between E. 25th Street and E. 26th Street, and between Gillham Road and Cherry Street, to convey said property to a not-for-profit corporation, for the public purpose of providing and expanding a campus to provide families with access to free housing, lodging and services that are nearby pediatric hospitals within the City, and authorize the City to convey said property for terms and consideration as the City may determine acceptable?
  • If (when!) KCMO voters approve on April 8, you might think we’d be ready to put a shovel in the ground and start building immediately. Not this time! Normally, when planning an expansion and capital campaign, you spend a few years (or more!) strategizing and talking to donors quietly, in private, behind the scenes. This time, because we need permission from KCMO voters to go forward, we are in the spotlight years before we’d normally be ready. So we are talking openly about the needs of families with sick children who are being turned away because we’re too full to serve them…  We’re being transparent about our need to expand…  And we’re pursuing the purchase of city land, Longfellow Park, before we are launching a formal, public capital campaign to seek financial support.

I have to be honest: I’m not enjoying our foray into politics! I want us to focus on the families with sick children that we serve—what they need, want, expect, and deserve from us, during these most important times of their lives. But to do that, we need to spend a few months in this “get out the vote” endeavor, specifically for this issue that affects us directly. We are a smart organization; we’re strategic and careful and have been considering this expansion for years. We wouldn’t be chasing this if it didn’t matter so much for our families. Especially the projected 1,000 we expect to turn away this year.

Just by reading this far, you’ve shown your support for families with sick children. And that means a lot. And I’d also like to speak to you now not only as a Ronald McDonald House supporter but as a member of the public. If you’re a Kansas City voter or know someone who is, we need you at the polls on April 8. 

If you’re not a Kansas City voter, please consider helping our mission reach others who are. Thank you for all the ways you show up for us and the families we serve—we’re so grateful you are in our corner.