KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 21, 2024) -- The Kansas City Royals and QuikTrip today announced a multi-year partnership in which QuikTrip will become the official jersey patch partner of the Kansas City Royals.

Via the first-of-its-kind partnership, QuikTrip and the Royals are placing community investment, and specifically youth literacy, at the forefront of their alignment.

“When we expanded outside of Oklahoma, QuikTrip’s first stop was Kansas City back in the 1960s,” said QuikTrip Community Relations Manager Lauren Sherry. “We have been a proud member of the Kansas City community for decades, and we are excited to partner with the Royals to generate meaningful, longlasting impact on the communities where our employees and customers live and grow. We are eager to see the impact of this unique partnership and its ability to move the needle on youth literacy in this community.”

“The Royals have a long history of inspiring fans on the field and lifting up our community and serving its needs well beyond the ballpark,” said Sarah Tourville, Royals Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial and Community Impact Officer. “This unique partnership with QuikTrip allows us to combine our off-field efforts with our on-field presence to help our community and increase literacy rates throughout the region.”

This is new: Major League Baseball’s first and only jersey partnership built around investing in the community.

The Royals and QT are launching this partnership with a focus on literacy. Literacy is a key pillar of The Kansas City Royals Foundation’s mission, while at-risk youth and early childhood education have been long-term priorities for QuikTrip.

The partnership is aimed at meeting an urgent Kansas City need: only 21% of third graders in the city’s public school district and charter schools are reading on grade level. (Source: MO Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education) That metric is a primary indicator for high school graduation: students who can’t read proficiently by third grade are four times less likely to graduate high school.

Research also shows lower literacy rates are tied to higher risks of violence, drug use, and other poor health outcomes. Those struggles only continue into adulthood, with lower literacy rates associated with increased hospitalizations and other health risks.

This partnership will incorporate the launch of “Hit the Books,” a program focused on improving literacy rates across the Kansas City community, including a significant commitment to Kansas City Public Schools as well as a donation for every Royals hit this season and other initiatives.

“The data showcasing the devastating impact of youth literacy will break your heart,” said Royals Vice President of Community Impact Luis Maes. “Our partnership with QuikTrip enables and empowers the Royals to take immediate action with the ‘Hit the Books’ program and overarching Club support behind youth literacy. This new partnership complements and reinforces the Royals’ steadfast commitment to enriching our communities and championing opportunities for the development of youth in the classrooms and on the field.”

Though the partnership is new, the organizations each share a long and proud tradition of giving back.

Since its founding in 1958, QuikTrip invests net five percent of profits back into the communities it serves, with a historic focus on serving at-risk youth and education partners. With more than 31,000 employees, QuikTrip has consistently received national recognition as a top place to work as well as one of the top convenience store marketers in product quality and friendly service.

The Royals were founded by Ewing Kauffman, whose impact lives on through the Kauffman Foundation which has – among more initiatives than can be mentioned – provided college education for thousands of low-income students in Kansas City. John Sherman leads the current ownership group, which has charitable efforts all over the region with a particular focus on urban education and underserved communities.

The Sherman Scholars, to pick just one, has put hundreds of Kansas City high school graduates from underserved communities through college with zero or tremendously reduced debt.

The Kansas City Royals were supported by Elevate in building this community marketing partnership. The Royals will wear the QuikTrip logo on all uniforms, beginning with spring training in Surprise, Ariz. The Royals’ first spring game is Friday at Surprise Stadium, and Opening Day will be March 28 at Kauffman Stadium against the Minnesota Twins.