How KC Strong Fund helped victims with resources, funds in year after rally shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On February 14, 2024, Kansas City faced tragedy. Near the end of the Super Bowl Rally, one woman was killed and 23 others were injured after a shooting. It led to the creation of the KC Strong Fund, and over $2 million poured in to help so many affected.

“We went from this high and exuberance of celebrating the Super Bowl to this low of a tragedy and really trying to make sense of what we knew and what we didn’t know,” said United Way of Greater Kansas City President/CEO, Chris Rosson. He added, “I think, like everyone, we were looking for what was our best role to play United Way has played this role for over 100 years in our community of helping our community to respond to our most significant challenges and one of the ways we do that is by bringing people together around a common purpose and this felt like just the right thing to do.”

United Way of Greater Kansas City and the Kansas City Chiefs created the KC Strong Fund.

In June 2024, more than $2 million in funds were distributed from more than 4,000 donors.

“We distributed all of those funds in about a four-and-a-half month’s timeframe,” said Rosson. He added, “It is just such an example of how our community coming together can really rally and accomplish great things.”

$1.2 million went directly to 20 verified shooting victims. They received payments ranging between $22,000 to $100,000.

“It was something that affected us all and everybody in this community was a part of the response in some way or another,” said Rosson.

United Way also invested $831,750.61 equally across 14 community organizations, which have helped thousands in the metro.

Those organizations are:

• AdHoc Group Against Crime
• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City
• Center for Conflict Resolution
• Guadalupe Centers
• Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission
• KC Common Good
• KC Mothers in Charge
• Lyrik’s Institution
• Newhouse
• Rose Brooks Center
• The Battle Within
• Transition Zone KC
• University Health
• Uncornered

The United Way of Greater Kansas City provided an impact update to KCTV on Tuesday as the one-year anniversary approaches. The nonprofit, The Battle Within helped dozens of firefighters, EMS workers, police officers, veterans, and frontline medical professionals after the shooting.

“At the end of the day a lot of those folks were struggling and it was bringing up past traumas,” said The Battle Within Clinical Manager, Adam Magers. “Immediately started connecting them with a therapist but we also started planning what we could do as a group.”

They have a five-day on-campus program, Frontline Therapy Network, and other resources.

“They teach you coping skills, they teach you how to deal with stress, they teach you how to deal with the accumulation of stress on the job, constantly running into dangerous situations that other people are running out of and exposure of that overtime really takes a toll on people,” said Kansas City, Missouri Police Department Captain Jason Cote.

Captain Cote went through The Battle Within five-day program about three years ago and was there the day of the rally shooting.

“We had to organize chaos the best we could,” Cote said.

He went back as a mentor after the shooting to help other first responders.

“It was nice to be able to listen to somebody who experienced the same thing that I did,” said Captain Cote. He added, “They’ve really helped the people who have dedicated their lives to helping other people and I get to see that as a mentor and I get to provide some of the things that they did for me to other people.”

“In the aftermath of something like last year’s shooting we see the strength and character of our community even in those moments,” said Magers. He added, “The funding to these programs to help people you know figure out how to heal and then continue to do the things that they love to do are so so important.”

Captain Cote said it is important to focus on mental health as a first responder every day, not just when big tragedies happen.

“Everybody is vulnerable we are human beings like everybody else,” said Captain Cote.

Nearly a year after the shooting, the KC Strong Fund continues to help thousands as the community heals.

“KC Strong to me means it stands for resilience, stands for strength in the face of adversity, it stands for strength by coming together,” said Rosson.

“I would like to see the underlying spirit of KC Strong continue and move forward and become even stronger,” said Captain Cote.

Rosson said United Way of Greater Kansas City will continue its work through grants, initiatives, and resources to help the community address challenges when they arise.

For more stories from KCTV’s Aftermath series, click here.

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