Games between the professional baseball clubs in Kansas City and St. Louis are known parochially as the “I-70 Series.” This spring, the baseball rivalry between these two cities was not to be outdone by a friendly fundraiser between two UnitedHealthcare offices.
UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF) hosted back-to-back fundraising events at Topgolf facilities, the first on April 23 in Kansas City and the second on April 24 in St. Louis. During a planning meeting in late 2018, CEO Rob Broomfield from the UnitedHealthcare office in Overland Park, Kansas, challenged fellow CEO Pat Quinn in Maryland Heights, Missouri, to a friendly competition to see whose team could raise the most money for UHCCF.
“This was a great opportunity for our employees and customers to work together to raise awareness and money benefiting UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation,” Broomfield said. “By turning this into a friendly challenge, it allowed us all to stay focused on our fundraising efforts.”
Regardless of which side of the state line they’re on, both offices recognized the importance of supporting UHCCF, a national nonprofit offering medical grants that provide financial relief for families who have children with medical needs not covered, or not fully covered, by their family’s commercial health insurance plan.
Eight-year-old grant recipient Jonah and his family attended the Overland Park event to share their story. Jonah lives with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare chromosomal disorder, which causes developmental delays and low muscle tone.
Jonah’s mother, Melissa, learned about UHCCF through his physical therapist and decided to apply online for a UHCCF grant to help offset the cost of her son’s customized orthotics.
“Jonah is a very happy, sweet child, despite all he’s been through,” Melissa said. “The three grants we’ve received from the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation for his orthotics have helped our family tremendously. Now he’s gained enough strength in his ankles to allow him to graduate to inserts.”
Together, the two UHC offices raised more than $60,000.
Eligible families can receive up to $5,000 annually per child or a lifetime maximum of $10,000, and do not need to have UnitedHealthcare insurance to apply for UHCCF grants. The foundation has a goal to deliver its 20,000th grant in 2020. For more information about UHCCF or how to apply for a grant, please visit www.uhccf.org.