The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI) will serve as the beneficiary of the 27th annual Chiefs Charity Game to be played in 2010. Through the Chiefs Children’s Fund, the Chiefs organization owns a long tradition of supporting local children’s charities. Since its inception in ‘84, the Chiefs Charity Game has raised nearly $6.5 million for a variety of local causes, making it one of the most successful benefit games of its type in the National Football League. In 2009, CCVI received $456,000 through the Chiefs Charity Game.

“We are pleased to announce that the Children’s Center For the Visually Impaired will serve as the beneficiary of the Chiefs Charity Game once again in 2010,” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt said. “As a family, we are very proud of the Chiefs tradition of service in the Kansas City community, and we are delighted to support CCVI’s ongoing work with visually-impaired children and their families.”

Stu Stram, son of Hall of Fame head coach Hank Stram, and his wife, Dana will serve as chairs of the Chiefs Charity Game for a second consecutive year. CCVI Executive Director Mary Lynne Dolembo expressed her gratitude to the Chiefs organization for being named the beneficiary of the Chiefs Charity Game.

“We feel particularly honored to have been named the beneficiary of the Chiefs Charity Game in 2010,” Dolembo said. “The many children and families served by CCVI will continue to reap the rewards of the Chiefs generosity. Thanks to the support of the Chiefs and the rest of the Kansas City community, we will be able to expand the work we do with so many blind and visually-impaired youngsters.”

A not-for-profit agency located on the Children’s Center Campus at 3101 Main Street in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, CCVI’s mission is to prepare children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities, to reach their highest potential in the sighted world. CCVI provides a comprehensive program for children, birth through school age, that includes highly-specialized instruction, therapies and family education. Founded in ‘52, CCVI has served more than 8,000 children and families in the greater Kansas City area over its nearly 60-year history. Currently, CCVI has an approximate enrollment of 200 children, while servicing 350 unique individuals a year.

The Chiefs Children’s Fund was established in ‘83 and provides vital support to more than 60 local youth agencies and schools annually, both in Missouri and Kansas. Thanks to the Chiefs Charity Game, numerous local agencies have received much-needed funding. Past beneficiaries of the Chiefs Charity Game have included the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Don Bosco, Niles Home, Operation Breakthrough and Ozanam, just to name a few.