Chiefs’ Travis Kelce says helping others in the KC community is a ‘passion of mine’
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has had a great 2020 on the field.
He helped the Chiefs wins Super Bowl LIV in February, and this season leads all NFL tight ends with 501 receiving yards and is tied with the Raiders’ Darren Waller for most receptions (40).
Kelce also has done good things off the field this year. His 87 & Running Foundation in March partnered with Harvesters to donate 6,000 meals to families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and donated all the food and supplies needed for 15 weeks by Operation Breakthrough, an early education center and social service facility.
In August, he signed a four-year contract extension with the Chiefs and celebrated by announcing plans to purchase a building that will allow teenagers to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. That also was a partnership with Operation Breakthrough.
Kelce, who turned 31 earlier this month, said that when his playing days end, he intends to continue making an impact in his hometown in Ohio and his adopted hometown.
“I know one thing that’s gonna keep going is the way that I try and help out the community, help out the underserved, the underserved kids around the Kansas City area and where I’m from back in Cleveland Heights, Ohio,” Kelce said. “It’s just always been a passion of mine to be able to lend a helping hand, make somebody smile that’s having a rough day. I’ve just always been a happy-go-lucky guy in that regard. And I think that’s one thing that you’ll see kind of stick and stay true is 87 & Running keep getting bigger and bigger and helping more people.”
Kelce made the comment while discussing his latest endeavor, a partnership with Pepsi, which worked with Kelce’s fashion arm, Tru Kolors, to design a T-shirt benefiting Eighty-Seven & Running.
Pepsi purchased $10,000 worth of the shirts for its workers in Kansas City who have continued to go into stores and restaurants during the pandemic.
Fans can win T-shirts by visiting Pepsi displays at stores in the Kansas City area for a “text-to-win program.” They are expected to be sold at a future date, too.
Kelce said the pandemic has limited his opportunity for meeting and helping people in Kansas City this year, but he’s proud of the work the foundation has done to date.
“I have a team of people at 87 & Running, mostly from the Cleveland area, but we have a lot of people here in Kansas City, that help kind of guide how we influence this community, and it’s always fun getting out in the community, seeing people ... or just get out in the community and have some fun,” Kelce said. “I think 87 & Running has found fun ways to raise money to help the kids around the KC area. I’ve just been so fortunate that I’ve had the team and the respect from the community to keep raising funds to help in the way that we have.”
