KC Area Behavioral Health Organizations Join Presenting Sponsor Blue KC at KC NWSL Home Match on World Mental Health Day

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 8, 2021) – As the presenting sponsor of the Kansas City National Women’s Soccer League team’s (KC NWSL) home match this Sunday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) will honor community organizations that support behavioral health in celebration of World Mental Health Day. Girls on the Run and #ZeroReasonsWhy will be named the Community Champions of the match. Just last week, Blue KC announced a partnership with #ZeroReasonsWhy to make the teen-led suicide prevention campaign available to additional schools in the Kansas City metropolitan area through funding and sponsorship.

Sunday’s KC NWSL match is also Kids’ Day, and Blue KC is helping to ensure area youth can participate by sponsoring match tickets and transportation for 250 Girls on the Run participants. Blue KC is a long-time supporter of Girls on the Run, a non-profit organization “designed to inspire girls of all abilities to recognize and embrace their inner strength.”

As part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 3-9, KC NWSL held a Community Day on Tuesday at a Girls on the Run practice at Kansas City International Academy School in Kansas City, MO. Kristin Gernon, Blue KC Behavioral Health Training & Development Specialist, joined KC NWSL players for a curriculum focused on facing challenges, empathy and helping others who are struggling and dealing with strong, uncomfortable emotions.

“At Blue KC, we’re committed to educating our members, partners and the community on the importance of behavioral health,” said Jenny Housley, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Blue KC. “As we recognize World Mental Health Day, I’d like to encourage everyone to have open and candid conversations with their healthcare providers, partners, friends and children about issues that are too often hard to talk about. We have to start talking about things like depression and anxiety in order to destigmatize these conversations and ensure we are all living healthier and happier lives.”

Blue KC is dedicated to cultivating a healthier Kansas City and making mental and behavioral health a priority. Blue KC has longstanding relationships with several partners in the Kansas City area that focus on behavioral health, including programs like Shut Out the Stigma and Hometown Heroes with the Kansas City Royals that advance behavioral health conversations in the community.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.