PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Eagles Autism Foundation (EAF) is reaching a milestone moment with its signature event, the fifth-annual Eagles Autism Challenge on May 21. It will include bike rides, a 5K run and walk, a sensory walk, and virtual participation.
The event raises money for innovative research and programs, gathers the autism community together, and brings awareness to their cause.
"Before I was even involved with any of this, I didn't know much about [autism]," longtime Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce told KYW Newsradio.
"I can't help but think there's a lot of people that are probably in the same boat that I was."
Kelce and his wife Kylie are very involved with the autism community and EAF. One of Kylie's close neighbors growing up is named Tim, who is autistic. She considers him to be a brother.
Jason Kelce said that before meeting Kylie, he didn't know anyone who is autistic, but then later clarified that.
"Turns out I probably did,” Jason Kelce said. “That just shows how much more awareness there is for not just autism, but the spectrum in general, and how many people this truly affects."
Ryan Hammond, the Executive Director of the Eagles Autism Foundation, previously worked with another autism organization before Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie approached her in December 2017 about having autism funding and research be a part of his legacy.
Lurie's brother is autistic.
"This is when he was approaching 25 years of owning the team,” Hammond said.
“Point blank, he said, 'My first priority is the Super Bowl. The next will be the success of this initiative.’ And just hearing those words, I knew that this was going to be something special."
Since 2018 when the Eagles held their inaugural challenge, the event has raised over $12 million through the foundation.
"We give every single dollar we raise back into the autism community," Hammond told KYW Newsradio.
"We do that in a way that's very intentional and not transactional. We're not giving to organizations because of proximity, or because of affinity. We're giving to measurable projects that have the ability to change lives in the future."
Those last five words completely resonate with season ticket holder Stephanie Stricker, whose 10-year-old son Tyler is autistic. Stricker said the Eagles running this foundation “changed our life, honestly."
According to autismspeaks.org, the CDC reported in 2021 that about one in 44 children in the U.S. is autistic.
"Not enough people talk about it," Stricker explained. "There's still so much stigma around autism, and we need to open that conversation."
Chanté Douglas has also been an Eagles fan for many years, dating back to the days of Randall Cunningham and the late, great Reggie White. Her 9-year-old son Levi is autistic, and she shares her fears about him becoming stigmatized.
"What's really sad is as our kids get older and become adults with autism, employment isn't always available to them, because [employers] don't understand what autism is,” Douglas said.
“That's why it's extremely important to keep advocating, because then bigger companies will understand our kids are a huge asset to the workforce, and that needs to be definitely pushed to the forefront."
Like their mothers, Levi and Tyler are big Eagles fans as well.
"We were actually able to go to an Eagles game back in 2019," said Douglas, who shared if she could hug the entire team for this foundation, she would.
"This was right after [the Eagles] had the [Eagles Autism Foundation] sensory room put in place [at Lincoln Financial Field.] And I wasn't sure how [Levi] was going to take it, because that was actually our very first event of that size. Our fans are very rowdy. We're very passionate. So we went and he actually had a great time.”
She said Levi’s favorite part was how each time the Eagles scored a touchdown, fireworks went off.
“One great thing about my son with autism is that he has echolalia, which means that he mimics everything that he sees and everything that he hears,” she said. “So when we were driving home, all he kept singing was 'Fly Eagles Fly,' the fight song, and he was mimicking the sounds of the fireworks."
Tyler's favorite Eagle used to be former Birds quarterback Carson Wentz, who is no longer on the team.
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"He's interviewing for new favorite players,” Stricker said. “He just said he'll figure it out. He'll see who he likes."
Kylie Kelce said she has worked with special needs students in the Lower Merion School District. She calls that work rewarding.
"People who don't get to interact with people who are on the spectrum don't really understand the sort of joy that you can get just in interacting with someone like that, and understanding their desires, their preferred behaviors, their preferred activities, and getting to do that with them and connect with them on that level is just so incredibly rewarding," Kylie Kelce explained.
After a fully-virtual event in September 2020 and an August 2021 event due to COVID-19 setbacks, this year’s challenge has returned to May.
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"[The Eagles Autism Challenge] is really geared towards people that are on the spectrum," Kelce said. "The whole community there really understands how to interact and enjoy the day."
Since over $12 million has been raised since 2018, Hammond explained the goal is to reach at least $3 million this year.
As she put it, "$15 million or bust."
Click here for more on the Eagles Autism Challenge.
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