Philadelphia Eagles’ majority owner Jeffrey Lurie has a personal stake in learning all that he can about the autism spectrum.
Lurie’s younger brother Peter was diagnosed as autistic in 1957, and began communicating verbally in his 30s. According to recent CDC data, an estimated 1 in 36 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with autism. Lurie is passionate about the issue, consistently working towards a collective social and global shift from autism awareness to action.
With Lurie leading the way, the Eagles’ organization and their dedicated fanbase have combined to make major ripples in the autism knowledge pool. A few months before Philadelphia won its first Super Bowl in 2018, the Eagles Autism Challenge was created. The Eagles Autism Challenge is a massive annual fundraising event sponsored by Lincoln Financial Group, championed by Lurie and Eagles Nation.
Over the course of its six-year existence, including two years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles Autism Challenge has raised nearly $23 million.
In September 2019, the Eagles Autism Foundation was formed to centralize all of the team’s autism activities into one organization. EAF Executive Director Ryan Hammond has played a major role in the foundation’s tremendous growth. Hammond pours her heart and soul into the cause, and the EAF is quickly becoming a nonprofit powerhouse.
“The unique thing that we have as an organization is that we have the strength of the Philadelphia Eagles brand.,” Hammond told OSDB Sports. “It really is Eagles Everywhere. This year alone we had almost 30,000 donors from 30+ countries around the world supporting this initiative. We can connect our team with the fans and the community, supporting families, and this has been a key driver for our success.
“Also being intentional, not just doing a fundraiser, but putting in the work 365 days a year, has really set the pathway for this to be transformational, and it’s happened in a very short period of time. It’s been amazing to be a part of.”
Every dollar that the Eagles Autism Foundation raises goes directly to autism research and advancement of the cause. Lurie and the Eagles are fully committed and in it for the long haul. EAF recently completed an event with the Barefoot Country Music Festival in New Jersey, and next week Eagles’ center Jason Kelce will be a guest bartender for Team 62 at The Ocean Drive.
See you down the shore⛱️
— Eagles Autism Foundation (@eaglesautism) June 15, 2023
Entry for @JasonKelce’s fundraiser will be available on a first come first serve basis.
Ensure your spot and be one of the Top 30 donors for priority entry for this event and access to the @newheightshow live podcast!https://t.co/XMgwbm5N9q pic.twitter.com/ApH9rSAhHa
“One of the first questions for us was ‘How are we going to live the mission every single day?’” Hammond recalled. “So, we opened one of the first sensory rooms in the NFL at our stadium, we certified our building to be sensory inclusive, and we trained our staff."
"Eventually, we secured vendors who exclusively employed adults with autism, and now we have our own employment program with over 20 individuals on the spectrum who work every gameday at Lincoln Financial Field. It has really been an evolution, and the organization has a true focus on prioritizing inclusion and making sure that the needs of the autism community are consistently met.”
“We’re about to embark on our scientific process, and it really matches the rigor of how Howie (Roseman) is drafting players on the field. We have over $6.2 million that I am charged with giving away within this fiscal year. There’s no carrying over."
“Every dollar has to be invested in meaningful ways. So, we’ll put out a request for applications, and we’ll receive global letters of intent from institutions with a focus on autism research.”
“Then we match the content of the proposals with leading scientists from all over the world, and we invite about 15 of them to be on our review panel. We fly all the scientists down to Jeffrey’s house in Palm Beach and we have a two-day review session. We’re looking for measurable outcomes, we’re looking for innovation, we’re looking for breakthroughs in the field.”
“When I run into one of our donors on the street, I can look them in the eyes and tell them that I know firsthand that their dollars are making a difference. In fact, based on the year that someone donated I can tell them the project that they funded and offer them a copy of the progress report on it. All of this comes together and leads to a real opportunity to change the future in the field of autism.”
