(Read about the results: Heroes Emerge at the 6th Annual KVC Hero Luncheon Benefitting Children in Need)

Head Coach Bill Self of the University of Kansas men’s basketball program and former KU Jayhawk, NBA player, media personality and reality TV star Scot Pollard will headline KVC Health Systems’ sixth annual KVC HERO LUNCHEON taking place June 15 at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas. The event provides an exclusive opportunity to see the lighter side of Coach Bill Self, get insider commentary on the upcoming basketball season and catch up with KU alum Scot Pollard on his professional basketball and TV career. The luncheon also raises awareness of the need for heroes in the form of foster parents, financial supporters and mentors to help children who have experienced abuse, neglect or other family challenges. Tickets are available at www.kvc.org/heroluncheon.

The 2017 KVC Hero Luncheon is presented by Holmes Murphy and KVC Health Systems. Lead sponsors for the event include Garmin, Bank of Blue Valley, Spencer Fane, Michelle and Jarret Schmidt, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, Community America Credit Union, IMA and JE Dunn. See website for a complete list of corporate sponsors.

In addition to Self and Pollard, the event will have well-known local personalities participating. 41 Action News (KSHB) anchor Christa Dubill is emceeing the event for the fourth year in a row, and Sports Radio 810 WHB host Nate Bukaty will facilitate a lively discussion with Self and Pollard.

Watch this short view to learn more:

Funds raised at the luncheon will benefit children and teens involved in the child welfare system and cared for by KVC Kansas, a subsidiary of nonprofit child welfare and behavioral healthcare leader KVC Health Systems. KVC Kansas is responsible for more than half of all children and families who interact with the Kansas child welfare system due to a unique and successful 20-year partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). This means KVC cares for more than 3,800 Kansas children each day in highly-trained foster families and other community-based programs, plus thousands more children in other states.

In addition to foster care, KVC’s services include in-home family support, adoption, behavioral healthcare and children’s psychiatric hospitals. KVC is known nationally for its achievements such as keeping up to 94% of families safely together without disruption to foster care by providing high-quality, in-home family preservation services; caring for 95% of children in foster care in family homes as opposed to group settings; safely reducing the average length of stay for children in residential psychiatric treatment to about 80 days as compared to 9-12 months in other states; and earning recognition as a national leader and trainer in integrating trauma-informed care into child welfare and related systems.

Individual tickets to the luncheon are $100 and corporate sponsorship opportunities are available. Buy tickets today at www.kvc.org/heroluncheon.

About KVC Health Systems, Inc.

KVC Health Systems, headquartered in the greater Kansas City area, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that enriches and enhances the lives of nearly 61,000 children and families each year by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services, and education. KVC’s diverse continuum of services includes in-home family therapy, behavioral healthcare, foster care, adoption and children’s psychiatric hospitals. In its 47-year history, KVC has grown since from a single Kansas home for boys to a national organization serving tens of thousands of children and families in Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Nebraska and West Virginia. Learn more at www.kvc.org.