U.S. Hockey's Laila Edwards’ Parents Share ‘Gratitude’ After Jason and Travis Kelce Donate to Help Them Travel to Olympics

NEED TO KNOW

• Laila Edwards' parents said they were "humbled" by Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce's donations to their family's fundraiser
• Edwards is appearing in her first Olympics next month after being named to the U.S. women's hockey team
• Edwards' family launched a GoFundMe to help her parents and a dozen other family members travel to Italy to watch her compete

Laila Edwards’ parents are feeling the love!

Earlier this month, the 22-year-old U.S. women’s hockey star broke the news to PEOPLE that Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce had made a large donation to a GoFundMe her family had set up to help more than a dozen of her family members, including her parents, travel to watch her compete in her first Winter Olympics in Milan.

The fundraiser has since amassed more than $59,700 in donations as of Friday morning, helping Edwards, the first Black woman to play for the U.S. women’s hockey team at the Olympics, pay for her family’s journey overseas.

"We’re humbled by it,” her father Robert Edwards told the Associated Press in an interview this week.

The U.S. hockey star’s mother, Charone Gray-Edwards, could barely contain her excitement: “Oh my goodness,” she said. “I was going to find words to describe the gratitude and appreciation. But I haven’t yet.”

Edwards’ mom told the outlet that she “was in Wisconsin this weekend and people are coming up to me saying, ‘I didn’t have much but I donated.’ ” 

“And I’m like, ‘You don’t understand, every dollar counted. Every dollar,' " Gray-Edwards added.

The AP reported that 14 of Edwards’ family members will now be able to travel to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, which begin on Friday, Feb. 6. Edwards told the outlet that the money left over after the trip will be used to help her local Cleveland community, including buying hockey equipment for kids. “We really want to honor the money that’s been given to us,” the U.S. Olympian said.

The U.S. women’s hockey star also said Travis, 36, personally later called her to congratulate her on making the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team earlier this month, and told her that he and his family were rooting for her.

"He was just saying, everyone’s got my back. He’s rooting for me,” Edwards told the AP. “They didn’t have to do that, but they did. And I’m really grateful.”

Edwards has long been on the Kelce brothers’ radar, she told PEOPLE earlier this month — especially given their shared roots in Cleveland.

"When I first made the national team, they shouted me out on their podcast for being the first Black woman to play on the team," Edwards said.

In addition to calling Edwards and sending her supportive messages on social media throughout her budding hockey career, the Olympic athlete told PEOPLE that the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end has “been in touch a little bit on how else he can help."

"So I mean, those are just really good guys," Edwards said about the Kelce brothers. "They're really good people, too, outside of their athletic abilities."

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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