Travis Kelce Announces 'Ignition Lab' for Underserved Teens in Kansas City
Travis Kelce has announced his first big purchase after signing his four-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. He's giving back to Kansas City.
Kelce announced the creation of "Ignition Lab: Powered by 87&Running" in partnership with Operation Breakthrough, a Kansas City-based not-for-profit that provides educational programs, healthcare, parent programs and emergency services to Kansas City children and families.
In a letter posted to his social media channels, Kelce details the mission and reason for the new project:
Dear Kansas City,
Six more years, baby.
I couldn't begin to tell you how much this city means to me. You took me in seven years ago and made all my dreams come true! I can't wait to give you another six seasons of everything I got when I take the field with my brothers.
But I'm also recommitting myself to the work I have left to do off the field. The amazing kids I've seen grow up the last seven years in the inner-city of KC are now teenagers navigating a world that doesn't always have their back.
The vision is to give these teens in KC's underserved neighborhoods a safe haven. A place where they're exposed to interests and role models far beyond the field or court. Kids can't concentrate if they don't feel safe. They can't envision a career they've never heard of or learn a skill they've never been taught.
So together with Operation Breakthrough, we're going to create this place.
I am excited to announce I am purchasing the building that will be the future home of the "Ignition Lab: Powered by 87&Running" — a co-working space where these teens will have the support, resources, and opportunity to explore careers in STEM, launch their own entrepreneurial ventures and gain real-world experience.
As a kid I was mindful of how life looked different for everyone, but as a man I am profoundly aware of the difference in opportunity, exposure, and privilege I grew up with compared to others. Where you live, the situation you were born into or the color of your skin should have no impact on the dreams you can dream.
And it's a beautiful thing when a kid's dream comes true.
Kelce's post also includes mock-ups of what the Ignition Lab will look like when it launches.
87&Running is Kelce's foundation, focused on its mission based on Kelce's childhood experience. The foundation's website says their goal is to "empower disadvantaged youth to achieve success by providing resources and support to their communities and cultivating their talent in the areas of education, business, athletics, stem, and the arts."
This new partnership with Operation Breakthrough is another way in which Kelce is helping achieve that mission in Kansas City.
May 2021 Update: Operation Breakthrough has tweeted that the Ignition Lab is scheduled to open Fall 2021!
Originally published August 2020.
