The power couple recently donated $1 million to Cleveland Heights High School, Kelce’s alma mater, to fund a full-scale renovation of key parts of the aging campus.

The donation has breathed new life into a building that had seen better days after more than six decades of wear and tear.

Among the facilities upgraded with the donation are the football field, the library, and the cafeteria — spaces that Kelce says helped shape him not only as an athlete but as a person.

But the most emotional moment of the day came when Kelce stepped into the old gym — a space he hadn’t visited in years — and was hit by a powerful memory that moved him to tears.

As part of the school’s tribute to Kelce, a section of the gym was left intentionally untouched for alumni and visitors to reflect on the school’s past. There, on one of the timeworn bleacher chairs, Kelce spotted a faded, hand-written inscription:
“If no one believes in you, believe in yourself – Mom.”

Kelce, 35, paused. Then, according to onlookers, he knelt down beside the chair and silently read the message again. The tight end’s eyes welled up.

“That was my mom,” Kelce later explained to local reporters. “She wrote that when I was 17 and on the verge of being expelled.”

The message, penned by Donna Kelce nearly two decades ago, was originally written during one of the lowest points in Travis’s teenage years. After a series of behavioral issues and academic struggles, Travis was at risk of being expelled from Cleveland Heights High. His football future — and high school diploma — were hanging by a thread.

“One day, after another meeting with the principal, I came back to practice and just sat there,” Kelce recalled. “And my mom had come in earlier that day. She left that message for me — she told the coach to make sure I saw it. That chair became my turning point.”

Kelce turned things around. He buckled down, improved his grades, and recommitted to football. The rest, as they say, is history — including two Super Bowl championships, multiple Pro Bowl appearances, and a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.

Now, through this gift, Kelce hopes to inspire future students to believe in themselves — especially when things get tough.

“Not everyone has someone in their corner,” he said, his voice cracking. “But if I can be that someone — even just through a better library or a safer field to practice on — then this is more than worth it.”

Taylor Swift, who was not present at the event due to tour commitments in Europe, released a statement expressing her support.

“Travis’s journey is a story of resilience, grit, and heart,” she wrote. “I’m honored to support this project and proud to stand by someone who never forgets where he came from.”

The Cleveland Heights community has responded with overwhelming gratitude. School principal Janet Lewis called the donation “transformative,” noting that the improvements have already begun to make a difference.

“Our students are walking taller. They’re proud of their school again,” she said. “And seeing someone like Travis come back and invest in them? That’s a message you can’t put a price tag on.”

The gym will be preserved as a hybrid space — part-renovated, part-legacy — with the now-famous chair remaining exactly where Kelce found it. A small plaque will be added beneath it:
“Believe in yourself. Dedicated to the Class of 2007 and all who came after.”

As Kelce stood in that gym, his eyes red but his smile wide, he had one final thought for the crowd of students, teachers, and media:

“Your past doesn’t define you — how you rise from it does. Just ask that chair.”