Royals Charities grant will go to new locker rooms at Police Athletic League

For more information, contact:
KCPD Captain Thad Seever
816-413-3527

Royals Charities will present a large donation to the Kansas City Police Athletic League (PAL) on Tuesday to renovate locker room and laundry facilities at a center used by hundreds of urban-core youth.

As part of their Week of Giving, Royals Charities will come to the PAL Center at 1801 White Ave. from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 6 for a tour and basketball scrimmage. Royals Charities will present a check for $40,000 to renovate the facility’s locker rooms, and the Royals Alumni Foundation will present a $5,000 check to renovate a laundry room.

The PAL Center has been under renovation for about the last five years to better serve the more than 300 urban-core youth who use it throughout the year. KCPD Captain Thad Seever said the locker room renovation will meet a need most people don’t think about.

“Many of these kids don’t have the utilities in place or supplies at home to get clean,” Captain Seever said. “The whole purpose of this is to give them a place to come in and privately take a shower and clean up.”

Many of the youth PAL serves also receive public assistance to obtain food, but that doesn’t cover toiletries, so several don’t have needed personal hygiene products. To complement the new locker room facilities, PAL will provide shampoo, soap and even clean clothes, if needed. The laundry room will help provide clean towels and laundry for PAL youth.

The PAL Center currently has locker rooms, but they are dark, lack privacy and go unused, Captain Seever said. The KCPD officers assigned to PAL and the PAL Board wanted to provide a welcoming and private space with individual lockers and private shower areas for the 8- to 18-year-old youth who use the center. That dream is becoming a reality thanks to Royals Charities and the Royals Alumni Association.

###

The mission of the Police Athletic League of Kansas City is to offer youth the opportunity to interact with police officers in a positive setting while participating in cultural, mentoring and sports programs with the main emphasis being placed on academics. The PAL program serves as a constructive alternative to anti-social behavior and boredom during their developmental years and into adulthood. Visit www.kcpal.org for more information