Blue KC’s “Shut Out the Stigma” Raises More Than $30,000 for Local Organizations in 2025
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), in partnership with the Kansas City Royals, is proud to announce that Shut Out the Stigma – an initiative that promotes behavioral health as a part of overall health and well-being and focuses on removing the stigma around mental health – has raised $31,950 in support of six behavioral health organizations in Kansas City. The amount is the second highest total in one season since Shut Out the Stigma began in 2021.
“We should do our best not to contribute to the stress our kids already feel around sports and activities,” said Jenny Housley, Blue KC Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer. “Fifty percent of lifelong mental health conditions begin by the age of 14. What we do now matters. This is why I am so passionate about the potential and the power of this campaign we have in partnership with the Kansas City Royals. Our collective goal is to make everyone more mindful about how we as parents, coaches and teachers play one of the most important roles in youth athlete mental health.”
Throughout the entire 2025 Royals regular season, Blue KC, the “Official Health Insurance Provider of the Kansas City Royals,” donated $30 each time a Royals pitcher recorded a shutout inning. Based on the total number of shutout innings by Royals pitchers each month, Blue KC made a monthly donation to a different Kansas City area behavioral health organization that promotes mental health through participation in sports, including Rose Brooks Center of Kansas City, Cornerstones of Care, The Family Conservancy, Child Protection Center, Saint Luke’s Hospital Crittenton Children’s Center and Kansas City Hospice Solace House.
Shut Out the Stigma, now in its fifth year, has raised more than $150,000 going to 27 different behavioral health-focused organizations in the local community.
In the latest installment of this initiative, Shut Out the Stigma is focused on providing awareness to parents on how their interactions with their youth athletes can have long lasting impacts… shutting out a factor to future behavioral health issues. The award-winning documentary “Not Good Enough” is free for anyone to watch and is intended to emotionally resonate and cause people to reflect on their behavior to foster more positive interactions with their youth athletes.
For additional information, content and resources, visit shutoutthestigma.com. To watch “Not Good Enough” – the 40-minute documentary for free – visit shutoutthestigma.com/documentary.
Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through impactful sports partnership programs.
Shut Out the Stigma
