By: Jeannie Wilcox, KCH Sr. Communications Manager
Published: January 3, 2024
For sisters and super fans Janet and Sherrie, what the Kansas City Chiefs’ record is right now in the 2023 season, is hardly the point. They have 26 exciting games – only wins – saved on their DVR so they can watch them at night. So – in case this week’s game doesn’t wind up with a W: they have all those others they can watch instead.
Imagine their delight at meeting Chiefs Ambassadors John Lohmeyer and Tim Barnett recently, during a personal in-home visit arranged especially for Janet, who is a patient of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care (KCH).
“She’s a lifelong fan and former season ticket holder,” said Delora Rialti, social worker with Kansas City Hospice, speaking about Janet. “And I knew it would just MAKE HER DAY to meet someone associated with the Chiefs face-to-face. So I asked our Development team if they could help make that happen.”
And they did.
Mary Zahner Bauer, a leader of the Development team as Director of Donor Relations for Kansas City Hospice, says the Chiefs Ambassadors always come through. “This is an incredible organization to work with,” she said. “Kansas City is so lucky to have this team and its former players helping organizations like ours make families and patients’ days brighter. We appreciate them so much!”
The Ambassadors are a group of former Kansas City Chiefs players from throughout the club’s history. They’re one of the only groups of their kind in the entire NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs Ambassadors support our community with local scholarship programs, charity golf tournaments and many charitable visits and appearances, including this visit with Janet and her sister.
As for Janet, she was pretty clear, “This is how come you’re my favorite social worker,” she whispered to Delora, almost awestruck as Ambassadors Lohmeyer and Barnett walked in, still tall and formidable, still wearing Chiefs jerseys. She went on to say – when quizzed about her favorite current player – that, while “Patrick [Mahomes] is my baby…James Winchester is my second fave. He’s a long snapper, he gets no love. Except from me.”
The mission of Kansas City Hospice is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by serious illness or by grief. And occasionally – our mission is to bring a couple of tall guys in red jerseys to the home of a super fan who could use a smile. Mission accomplished.
Pictured are Chiefs Super Fan Janet and Chiefs Ambassadors John Lohmeyer and Tim Barnett.
Posted in End of Life Care, Kansas City Hospice, News and Views