Taylor Swift just did something wonderful!
Mary Esselman of Operation Breakthrough confirmed she got a call from the singer’s team about a week before Christmas, revealing she wanted to donate $250,000 to the Kansas City organization.
“Our kids were pretty excited. We asked them if they wanted to do a little thank you, and you could see we had a lot of enthusiastic participants,” she told USA Today.
The nonprofit provides programs and quality child care for children of the working poor.
Keep reading to find out more…
The money will be divided between three programs, according to the report: the workforce development and entrepreneurship program which includes 10 labs where kids can learn industry trades, the before and after school program which provides child care services for families when school is not in session, and the early learners program.
“We have 432 students, birth to 5 year olds who are there every day for early care and education. Our goal is to make sure every child enters school ready,” the CEO said.
There’s also a Travis Kelce connection!
Her boyfriend has been an advocate and supporter of Operation Breakthrough for the past decade.
“He came for Read Across America Day. He was reading to some of the preschool classrooms…and he just kept coming back,” the CEO recalled of his first visit in March of 2015.
Every year, he sponsors the “87 and Running” robotics team. And in 2020, he purchased a muffler shop for the high school workforce development and entrepreneurship program.
“He’s just a down-to-earth guy. He would come over the years without media just to say hi to the kids after school. A couple times he did little pizza parties. He’s been someone that the kids see almost as a regular person, and he remembers their names,” Mary noted.
“Maybe one of these times she’ll pop along with Travis,” she added of a potential in-person cameo from Taylor, “but we couldn’t be more grateful that she selected us for such a special gift.”
Find out how Taylor just supported Travis!
Watch the thank you video…
✨ Thank you, @taylorswift13 , for making our holiday season shine even brighter! Your kindness and thoughtful 250K donation means the world to our children and families. pic.twitter.com/5t577qfxyz
— OperationBreakthrough (@OB_Inc_KC) December 21, 2024