RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE SEEKS PURCHASE OF LONGFELLOW PARK 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.