BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the days following the Buffalo Bills playoff loss in Kansas City, donations to John R. Oishei Children's Hospital continue to climb.
As of Saturday morning, Oishei Children's Hospital says over $442,000 has been donated to the Patricia Allen Fund thus far, with a majority of donations coming from the Kansas City area, many in increments of $13. Over 19,600 people have donated to the hospital so far.
In a tweet Saturday morning, Oishei said donations are starting to come in from Giants fans as well. This comes one day after Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has been named the new head coach of the New York Giants.
According to Oishei, some donations have come from Western New Yorkers as well. Between its playoff fundraiser and challenge campaign, Oxford Pennant donated $13,000 to the hospital.
On Thursday, FanDuel posted on Twitter that it was inspired by Chiefs and Bills fans, and announced that it is donating $52,000 to Oishei. The tweet read in part, "That’s $13,000 for each Josh Allen to Gabriel Davis TD in last Sunday’s epic showdown vs. KC."
“Growing up in Buffalo, and forever a die-hard Bills fan, I was proud of how the team competed in last Sunday’s game despite the outcome,” Amy Howe, CEO of FanDuel, said in a statement.
“But our company was more inspired by the incredible display of sportsmanship shown by Chiefs fans in support of Bills Mafia, who themselves have a legendary history of philanthropy. This gesture between fanbases inspired us to make our own contribution.”
Donations to the hospital started on Monday following a Facebook post from "Chiefs Kingdom Memes" encouraging fans to donate to the Patricia Allen Fund. The post read in part, "Out of HUGE respect for Josh Allen, I’m donating $13 to his foundation which supports the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. Hope some of y’all join this too." Hundreds responded to the post, saying it was a great idea, adding that they donated to the cause.
"We are so thankful to the entire community in Kansas City for thinking of us," said Allegra Jaros, hospital president for Oishei Children's Hospital.
Jaros added, "I see it not only as a recognition of Josh [Allen] and the children's hospital that he supports, but I also see it as a really great recognition of our Buffalo fans and Bills Mafia and the fact that this community is recognized for being a giving community - it makes me so proud to be a Buffalonian."
Those who donated to the Patricia Allen Fund are helping Oishei in several different ways. According to Andrew Bennett, vice president of the Children's Hospital of Buffalo Foundation, the money donated to the Patricia Allen Fund is allocated to Oishei's trauma program, its emergency department, and its pediatric intensive care unit.
"Each of those parts of the hospital require continuous improvements on equipment, talent, training, staying up to date with the very best in practice, ways to care for families," Bennett said. "Our patient family experience as well, which includes many different resources in the hospital that we support on an annual basis, because they're not eligible to be reimbursed or covered by insurance."
To learn more about the Patricia Allen Fund, click here.