Yong Kim \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2-300x225.png\")
<\/p>\n
Kylie Kelce returns to the Linc for the Eagles\u2019 open practice and an autism fundraiser<\/p>\n
She was fresh off a flight from Paris and the Olympics, but Kylie showed up for Eagles fans while her husband made his ESPN debut.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/02-300x200.png\")
<\/p>\n
Eagles fans watch kicker Jake Elliott practice before the start of the public practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Yong Kim \/ Staff PhotographerWhile\u00a0Jason Kelce<\/a>\u00a0made his\u00a0ESPN broadcasting debut<\/a>\u00a0Thursday night, Kylie Kelce was back home at Lincoln Financial Field for Thursday\u2019s open practice, helping with the fundraiser for the Eagles Autism Foundation.<\/p>\n After her husband\u2019s retirement from the NFL, Kylie Kelce passed the reins of organizing the wives\u2019 booth at the event, to Brooke Dickerson, wife of right guard Landon Dickerson, but she couldn\u2019t stay away for too long.<\/p>\n The foundation\u2019s executive director, Ryan Hammond, said Kylie has taken lead for the organization every year up until 2024. With Kylie and Jason in Paris for the\u00a0Olympics<\/a>\u00a0the day before, it seemed as if she might miss the event for the first time, but despite jet lag, she made it just in time, to the delight of the gathering crowd in front of the booth.<\/p>\n Eagles coach Nick Sirianni before the start of the public practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday.<\/p>\n Yong Kim \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n \u201cKylie\u2019s easy to follow in the footsteps of,\u201d Brooke Dickerson told The Inquirer. \u201c…The girls make it easy, because they\u2019re so willing to give their time and come here and support not only the Eagles Autism Foundation but just the Eagles in general.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t need any [advice],\u201d Kylie Kelce told The Inquirer. \u201cShe is a rock star. The fact that she was willing to raise her hand and encourage other women to get involved \u2014 every single year, we have a strong rotation of women that come in. To have someone else advocating in the women\u2019s group chat and saying, \u2018Hey, this is an outstanding opportunity to get involved, to sweat a lot, and to get to be face to face with the fans,\u2019 which I think is honestly one of the biggest selling points. She\u2019s been absolutely incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n As word circulated that Kelce was at the booth, fans began to line up for the opportunity to meet her, and to have her sign their No. 62 jerseys. She said she felt terrible \u2014 \u201cI feel so bad decreasing the value of these items by scribbling on them\u201d \u2014 but the big crowd helped sell more merchandise, adding to the $500,000 already raised by the Eagles Autism Foundation in ticket sales for the event.<\/p>\n kylie kelce is here signing jason kelce jerseys (and raising money for the eagles\u2019 autism foundation) at the eagles\u2019 open practice\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/C6M9XsEb7W<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2014 Gabriela Carroll (@gablcarroll)\u00a0August 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The booth was one of many fundraisers and events at the open practice. Fans also got the opportunity to fill a bag of Eagles and Lincoln Financial Field concert merchandise for $30 and participate in an auction for the players\u2019 custom energy green jerseys.<\/p>\n The Linc also hosted a food stand for Popcorn for the People, one of the foundation\u2019s partner organizations, which was founded to provide employment for neurodiverse individuals. The organization also provided sensory suites for neurodiverse fans for the event, and it is continuing to expand its program to employ more neurodiverse people at the stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the foundation first started, I started volunteering, and then Ryan, our executive director, I think she realized that it was going to take a lot more to get rid of me, so she actually offered me a position in a more official capacity,\u201d said Kylie Kelce, now senior event coordinator of the foundation. \u201cI\u2019m technically employed by the Eagles Autism Foundation, and I plan to stay for quite some time.\u201d<\/p>\n The main event of the fundraiser was, of course, the open practice. Nearly 50,000 fans, clad in midnight and kelly green, packed the lower bowl and even filled in the middle and upper bowls for the Eagles\u2019 only public practice at the Linc. Each ticket was $10, with all proceeds going to the Eagles Autism Foundation.<\/p>\n Many fans felt the end of the 2023 season was a letdown, but the offseason moves reinvigorated the Eagles\u2019 fan base \u2014 which\u00a0already has high expectations for 2024<\/a>. A number of fans broke out the\u00a0Saquon Barkley<\/a>\u00a0jerseys for the team\u2019s highest-profile offseason addition.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/002-300x208.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0002-247x300.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/00002-249x300.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/000002-259x300.png\")
<\/p>\n