Battle4KC

This first week of October is Mental Illness Awareness Week. Millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. This week, take time to get educated, fight stigmas, and provide support. Especially with COVID, things can look bleak right now. Be there. http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/MIAW

While we're sure you've enjoyed our famous KC fountains dyed pink, here's a quick reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. October is more than wearing a pink ribbon-- it's about getting screened, being educated, and reaching out to others who walk the path. #FCancer #breastcancer #reachout https://loom.ly/ttKqAwQ

Los amigos peludos favoridos de todos en Sesame Street te recuerdan participar en el #2020Census. Aprende más sobre cómo hacer que los niños, bebés y toda tu familia cuenten: www.2020census.gov/es

Everyone’s favorite furry friends on Sesame Street are reminding you to participate in the #2020Census! Learn more about how to make kids, babies, and your whole family count: www.2020census.gov

Today, we honor and celebrate our brave first responders who risked limb and life for this country - many giving their lives to see that others would live another day. We mourn the loss of so many beautiful souls. 9/11 is a day of solemn observation and a reminder of our Nation's ability to come together, arm in arm, to heal each of our communities. #NeverForget #StrongerTogether

A beautiful morning on the levee of the Big Muddy as the #MR340 gets underway. Paddlers will do a lot of ... paddling ... from KC to Saint Louis these next few days. Track them live here: http://raceowl.com/MR3402020

What a weird year it has turned out to be. We feel lost without you, Kansas City. We miss you but we know that we will see you once again. And hopefully soon!! Today, we celebrate the independence of our country -- by blowing up a small portion of it. We wish each of you, your families, and friends a fun and safe Fourth of July! #July4th #IndependenceDay #FOR_KC

For the second time ever, a naval vessel has been named after our dear city. The USS Kansas City arrived at its homeport in San Diego, May 24. It is an Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS); a fast, agile, multi-mission combatant capable of multiple missions including mine, surface, and anti-submarine warfare. #USSKansasCity

Riverfest Cancelled 2020 This year we find ourselves unable to gather together as a community to celebrate our nation and to honor our troops, our first respond...ers and their families at KC Riverfest this 4th of July on Independence Day. Yes, patriotism is important. Especially now, as we each feel isolated and many of us alone. We are reminded that patriotism is not who has the biggest and boldest flag or who waves it the highest and the hardest. Patriotism is diligently working and striving for a better, healthier, more substantial tomorrow. Additionally, we are reminded that while freedom may offer us the right to do as we please, it also provides us the opportunity to stand up and to do what is right. Friends of the River KC (FOR_KC) has spent these past nine months planning our 15th year of KC Riverfest. We are incredibly excited to reach this milestone for our community-wide event. Even across these past few months, we have continued to still cautiously work through new ideas and variations based on everchanging health protocols and safety measures. The decision for cancellation was made as our elected leaders, and a host of health professionals, are cautiously deliberating to formulate a clear picture of what future gatherings entail. No one has a crystal ball here, and there is no playbook. Providing a safe and healthy environment is crucial now more than ever before. Our decision was not reached without weighing the impact on the multitude of entertainers, vendors, volunteers, partners, sponsors, charities, as well as the municipalities involved. To our musicians, our entertainers, our local restaurants, our production teams, and our charity partners, we know this leaves you with a financial hole. You are a small business. You are local. You are the face of our festival. You do so much for our city, and we know you had budgeted for and counted on this day and our event financially. As the City of Kansas City Missouri's July 4th celebration, we thank them for their unwavering support at all levels. They do so much behind the scenes to keep this a festival for all parts and every neighborhood of our metro and well beyond our boundaries. We also thank the Kansas City Police Department, Kansas City Fire Department, the Levee District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, and especially our longtime friends Port KC. Port KC graciously provides their green spaces to not only us but all residents and visitors to Kansas City, and we would be nothing without their team and their board of directors. "We The People" temporarily cannot gather together in large numbers to celebrate America. But never forget that YOU are the Declaration of Independence. YOU are the Star-Spangled Banner. YOU are the Rockets Red Glare. YOU are the Pledge of Allegiance. YOU are the 4th of July. YOU are the American Spirit. YOU are One Nation. YOU are Kansas City. We do not need a party to tell us that. Be safe. Be strong. Be a friend. Friends of the River, KC

Support, love, nurturing, and guidance come in so many forms. Today we recognize all the versions and variations of moms and mother figures, including those who were and those of you still trying. We love you. Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Our Official World Record Setting Lightsaber battle May 4th, 2019 for Friends of the River KC. #FOR_KC #LightSaber #Battle4KC

We are now at capacity for today's COVID-19 Pop-up Testing sites at Antioch Crossing & Sunfresh. We are not accepting any new registrations. We appreciate everyone's patience and please note there will be testing at other sites throughout the week. TY

Light It Blue To our First Responders who fight on these front lines, to those who have suffered their last battle, to those called up again from a generation past, and to those who will thankfully make it through to the other side, this night we light it blue for you. . It is our duty to honor these courageous warriors, many who work knowing full well they are making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the rest of the world will endure. We think today to those suffering the he...artbreak of loss, alone, without closure nor contact nor goodbye, and we lift you up along with your families and your friends. . We stand hopeful to hold you in our arms again. Hopeful to shake your hand. Hopeful to view your faces sans shield and mask and screen. You are extraordinary Americans. You are exemplary patriots. You are marvelous role models to both young and old. . Today the devil whispered in my ear you’re not strong enough to withstand the storm. But I simply went about my work saying only I am the storm. . Do work. Stand strong. Be Mighty. . #LightItBlue #MakeItBlue #FirstResponders See more

There are many pieces that make a clock tick and tock and chime. Each part, no matter how small, is so critically important to all the others for the mechanism and machine to work. As we take pause, notice, and thank our first responders I feel it important to know that the list is long, their bench is deep, and those parts are many. While this is not a full list, it is a start of all those who are sacrificing for you, for me, for us. CNAs, orderlies, registered nurses, lice...nsed practical nurses, trauma nurse clinicians, ward clerks, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, clinical laboratory scientists, phlebotomists, radiology technologists, imaging technicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, admissions team, physical therapists, health information management, switchboard and operators, compliance officers, occupational therapists, medical coders, Chaplins, staffing clerks, biomedical techs, child life specialists, speech therapists, transcriptionists, case managers, wound care technicians, therapy aides, lactation consultants, patient transport, midwives, social workers, infection and quality control team, surgical techs, dietitians, administrative teams, outpatient services, finance and accounting, morgue attendants, CENTRAL SUPPLY, LINEN SERVICES, STERILE PROCESSING TECHS, HOUSEKEEPING, CAFETERIA WORKERS, human resources, and our doctors. #LightItBlue #MakeItBlue #FirstResponders #FOR_KC