Travis Kelce is giving back to the people of Kansas City.
The NFL tight end, 34, teamed up with Operation Breakthrough and the Kodiak breakfast brand to donate 25,000 meals to young people in his community.
“Joining forces with my friends over at Kodiak to fuel the Operation Breakthrough families is a total privilege,” Kelce said in a press release on Thursday, January 25. “Alongside Kodiak, a brand I love, we will be making a meaningful difference in the day-to-day life of hundreds of Kansas City kids, and I couldn’t be more excited to make this happen.”
Operation Breakthrough is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1971 as an afterschool program for under-resourced youth in Kansas City.
Kodiak, meanwhile, sells high-protein and whole grain breakfast products. Kelce became an investor in the brand in 2022.
“We are thrilled to work with Travis and an organization that is near and dear to his heart,” Kodiak CEO, Val Oswalt, shared in a separate statement. “By providing nutritious breakfasts we are giving kids what they need to be set up for success, and ultimately pave the way for healthier futures.”
Through the combined efforts of Kelce and Kodiak, families in Kansas City will be able to receive a hot breakfast.
This is hardly Kelce’s first instance of giving back. The Chiefs player founded the Eighty-Seven & Running foundation in 2015 to help “underserved youth strive to become productive citizens by mentoring and motivating them to explore and develop their abilities while learning critical life skills,” according to its website. Resources are provided through fundraising efforts, athletic programs, mentoring and outreach initiatives.
While Eighty-Seven & Running focuses on initiatives for young people, Kelce also used his foundation to help longtime Kansas City resident Gloria White after the house she lived in for 56 years needed major repairs.
Kelce teamed up with Rebuilding Together Kansas City earlier this month and donated enough money to repair her home. White is a longtime fan of Kelce’s NFL team as one of her relatives had been married to former Chiefs player Otis Taylor.
Executive director of Rebuilding Together Kansas City Scott Hickox told Kansas City’s KSHB 41 on January 12 that White’s house needed “a new roof,” along with gutters and “work in the bathroom and kitchen.”
“For Travis to care enough and his foundation to care enough about his community and what’s happening in Kansas City, this meant the world [that] he could partner with us,” he added.
