KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's been about a month since the heartbreaking Buffalo Bills playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. And in the days and weeks that followed, Chiefs fans donated more than $442,000 to the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital out of respect for Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Now Oishei Children's Hospital is saying thank you for the outpouring of love and support from Kansas City by sending some mementos and treats to a children's hospital in Missouri.
Oishei sent pennants, along with sponge candy, to children and staff at Children's Mercy in Kansas City. The banners from Oxford Pennant read "Sportsmanship Always Wins" with the date January 23, 2022.
Donations to the Oishei started on Monday, Jan. 24 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 helped the children's hospital in several different ways. According to Andrew Bennett, vice president of the Children's Hospital of Buffalo Foundation, 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.
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