Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce launches limited edition T-shirt for charity
More than six years ago, as it became clear his NFL career might keep him in Kansas City for the long haul, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce put together a charity foundation. He considered the recipients of the work that would follow, and weighing heavily were interactions he had early in his career. Interactions he had long before this career, actually.
With kids.
More specifically, with kids in underserved communities.
They’d found a soft spot and a connection with Kelce, who said, “I’m still a kid at heart.”
As his stardom has grown on the field, so too has the impact in the Kansas City community — with his charity, Eighty-Seven & Running, providing educational resources and a lab for teenagers in the inner city.
In his latest endeavor announced Tuesday, Kelce and his clothing brand, Tru Kolors, have partnered with Pepsi to launch limited edition T-shirts, with a portion of the proceeds forwarded to his foundation, Eighty-Seven & Running.
Tru Kolors has designed a special T-shirt — “STAY TRU,” it reads in graffiti-like script — and Pepsi has purchased $10,000 worth of them for its frontline workers based in Kansas City. The shirts are also available for public purchase on the clothing company’s website, TruKolors.com. They are $30 and will be available through Nov. 30.
“You know me, I’m all about the kids and giving back to this community. I love Kansas City because of how much support I get both on the field and off the field in terms of my foundation, Eighty-Seven & Running,” Kelce said.
In explaining the meaning behind the slogan — Stay Tru — Kelce added, “Stay true to not only yourself but appreciate others for staying true to themselves.”
A year ago, Kelce’s company launched an inaugural T-shirt with the Pepsi Stronger Together movement, and they sold quickly on the website, he said.
That sparked the idea to continue the tradition another year, with support for a foundation that is growing in its impact. In the 2020 summer, on the same day he signed a contract extension in Kansas City, he announced the charity had partnered with Operation Breakthrough to purchase a building in Kansas City and turn it into a working space for inner-city teens, called the “Ignition Lab.”
“I’m very fortunate to land here in Kansas City, a community that cares about each other,” Kelce said. “You don’t get this everywhere you go, where people want to give back to their community. They want to support each other (here), through foundations like Eighty-Seven & Running.
“I’ve just been so fortunate to not only get that support on the field but off the field as well. It’s just another reason why I love Kansas City and why I love being here, man.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce launches limited edition T-shirt for charity."