How former Chiefs brightened up Kansas City seniors' New Year's celebration
After a rather forgetful 2025 for the Kansas City Chiefs, representatives of the team came together Tuesday, Dec. 30, for an early New Year’s celebration with seniors at the Don Bosco Senior Center.
Bingo cards, sparkling grape juice, and KC Wolf were all on deck as former Chiefs wide receivers Chris Penn and Tim Barnett helped emcee the mid-morning celebration. The cafeteria was packed with Kansas City seniors ready to play multiple rounds of bingo, with Chiefs-themed prizes on the line.
Hats, blankets, puzzles and more prizes were up for grabs Tuesday morning. Don Bosco resident Jean Watts called bingo in one game, walking away with a football autographed by Chiefs players.
Fellow resident Richard Circo didn’t walk away with a prize, but still left satisfied with what the team did for him and his fellow residents.
“I think it’s great that they get to do this for the community. (The center does) everything for the people,” the 86-year-old said. “I sold my house three years ago, moved over here. It’s wonderful. At my age, you got to have things to do, you got to have places to go, and Bosco provides that.”
The Don Bosco Senior Center hosts the event annually, giving its residents an early celebration of the new year with the help of the Chiefs.
“It’s hard for some of them to be able to go to a game now, so it’s cool that now we can have some excitement like that come to them,” said Beth Scott, activities coordinator at the Don Bosco Senior Center. Last year, former Chiefs wide receiver Danan Hughes and tight end Keith Cash helped the seniors of Don Bosco ring in the new year.
Barnett and Penn also serve as Chiefs ambassadors. It’s a long list of former players who are still around in the KC area that come back to provide for its community. Penn spent his six-year NFL career with the Chiefs, the Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers, but always kept his KC home.
“When you’re playing, you have minimal time to go out and do charitable things, because you’re so focused on football. So when you get finished, it’s a great thing to get out, see the city, see all the beautiful people in the city,” Penn said, who says he bought his KC-area home in 1994. “The Chiefs are the only team that has an organization like the ambassadors. So you get the fellowship with the former players, and they also get the fellowship of the community.”
Of course, many of the residents were decked out in their best Chiefs gear. Despite a rough 2025, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, missing the playoffs this year and Patrick Mahomes going out with an ACL injury, Circo thinks the Chiefs can turn things around in a short span.
“I think they’re going to come back once Mahomes comes back. I think he’ll be stronger than ever,” Circo said. “You can’t win every single game in every single year, and they’ve done well over the last 11–12 years. I think they’ll be back, that’s my expectation. I hope I live long enough to see that. I feel good right now, so hopefully things go right.”
