VOTE YES ON QUESTION 2 THIS APRIL

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City is pursuing the opportunity to purchase 3.42 acres at 25th and Gillham (Longfellow Park), through an April 8, 2025, KCMO ballot question, in order to expand the number of rooms available to families with sick children.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City provides essential services to families with sick children, removing barriers to healthcare, strengthening families and promoting healing when children are critically ill – at no cost to them. Their 94 bedrooms are full nearly every night, and the charity turned away almost 700 families in 2024 because they didn’t have enough room. When a Ronald McDonald House is full, families with sick children are forced to make unbearably hard decisions during a medical crisis.

In the current agreement, Ronald McDonald House pays KCMO Department of Parks & Recreation $1 a year to lease Longfellow Park, where the 41-bedroom Ronald McDonald House has been located for the last 20 years. The charity has always paid all costs associated with maintaining the entire area, including the greenspace. Because the Ronald McDonald House is located on City land, the City owns the actual House located on Longfellow Park.

The most viable option for the charity to serve more families, while keeping guest families within walking distance of their child’s healthcare access (primarily at Children’s Mercy downtown), is to expand the Ronald McDonald House in and on Longfellow Park. This expansion will allow for 40 additional bedrooms, serving 1,400 more families a year. The charity seeks to purchase the land from the City and will fundraise to cover the costs of the Ronald McDonald House expansion, and they have broad support from the Longfellow Community, Children’s Mercy, the UMKC Health Sciences District and hundreds of Kansas Citians.

This ballot measure will cost KCMO taxpayers nothing. Ronald McDonald House plans to preserve the current walking path and 1.5 acres of publicly accessible green space.

To read our CEO, Tami Greenberg’s, guest commentary in The Kansas City Star, click here!

For early voting options, click here or here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is question 2 on the April 8 KCMO ballot about?

Ronald McDonald House will expand the Longfellow House to be able to serve 1,400 more families every year!
RMHC will maintain 1.5 acres as community green space, including the current walking trail
Ronald McDonald House will pay a fair market value for the land and incur all future maintenance costs, costing taxpayers nothing.

- Here 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?

Why is the Ronald McDonald House attempting to purchase Longfellow Park?

How much will Question 2 cost taxpayers?

Nothing at all. Ronald McDonald House will pay a fair market value for the land and incur all future maintenance costs,

Why does Ronald McDonald House need the space in Longfellow Park?

- We are turning away 1,000 families a year, this will allow for 40 more bedrooms (1,400 more families!)
- The most viable option for the charity to serve more families, while keeping guest families within walking distance of their child’s healthcare access (primarily at Children’s Mercy downtown), is to expand the Ronald McDonald House already in and on Longfellow Park.

What will happen to Longfellow Park?

The walking path and exercise equipment will remain in Longfellow Park. Ronald McDonald House will only develop .5 acre of the land their House is already on. The other 1.5 acres will remain greenspace – there is no playground in Longfellow Park, this is NOT Sheila Kemper Dietrich Park!

What does Ronald McDonald House do in Kansas City?

What happens when a Ronald McDonald House is full?

Families with sick children are forced to make unbearably hard decisions during a medical crisis. Paying for lodging in addition to medical bills is a financial burden many families cannot bear. If sleeping in a chair in the child’s hospital room is an option they will do so, but families cannot lean on one another for support as there is only room for one parent. Other options are not ideal: leaving a child alone in the hospital, delaying treatment, or completely foregoing pediatric care because a family has nowhere to stay.

How many families will the expansion serve?

This expansion will allow for at least 40 additional bedrooms, serving 1,400 more families a year.

What does the neighborhood think?

Ronald McDonald House has broad support from the Longfellow Community, Children’s Mercy, the UMKC Health Sciences District and hundreds of Kansas Citians. Ronald McDonald House plans to preserve the current walking path and 1.5 acres of publicly accessible green space.

How much will the Longfellow Park changes cost Kansas Citians?

NOTHING! This ballot measure will cost KCMO taxpayers nothing. In fact, Ronald McDonald House will pay the city for the land so the KCMO Parks & Recreation Department can reinvest it in local playgrounds and parks.

How much is the land going to cost?

The price of the land has not been determined at this point.

Why not expand on the other side of the street?

Expanding on the east side of Cherry would not allow for the amount of rooms needed to fulfill the projected needs of the organization for 40 bedrooms, and it would be removing 9,000 square feet of public green space in a serenity garden. Built in 2020, the garden is a well-needed respite for families to sit and relax outside of the hospital, for contemplation and peace in nature. It is another benefit, funded by the charity, enjoyed by the entire community. The addition on Longfellow Park is the most viable option.

Why not purchase a portion of Longfellow Park rather than the whole thing?

If Ronald McDonald House only purchases a portion of Longfellow Park, there will be issues with storm water and utility access. If the charity purchases 100 percent of the space, Ronald McDonald House assumes financial responsibility for working with the city of Kansas City on easement and design issues, while KCMO Parks and Recreation can invest in other public spaces. And, the charity has committed to preserving 1.5 acres for public benefit and a park-like environment.