Former Monroe star supports local foundation with NFL cleats

MONROE — It may be just one pair of cleats on the New England Patriots sideline on Monday, but it will mean the world to a Monroe family.

Around the NFL, football players use the league’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign once per season to shine some light on causes or charities that mean something to them.

Efton Chism III, a 2020 Monroe graduate and NFL rookie, chose the Monroe-based Big Heart, Big Smile Foundation, created in memory of Kaci Edelbrock, who passed away after a motor vehicle accident at six years old in 2018.

The organization, started by Kaci’s mother, Joni Edelbrock, focuses on providing resources to help children deal with grief as well as helping families in need.

Chism’s choice of footwear for the upcoming Monday Night Football game goes much further back than his brief time in the NFL.

“It’s dear to me because I knew the family who ended up having the tragedy,” Chism told Patriots.com reporter Evan Lazar. “We really started it to help kids or people in general who go through grief as a child, so I got behind it because I knew the family. It was easy for me to (choose). As the foundation grew, my platform grew a little bit as well. I was like, man, such a cool opportunity to help them out as best I can. The foundation started after the tragedy, and within a year, it got really big back home. We have a 5k every year and do a toy drive. We do a lot of things.”

The Edelbrock family certainly knows the weight grief carries. Losing a child is a pain that never goes away, Joni Edelbrock said. She believed meaning existed within the tragedy, and wanted her daughter to make the positive impact on the world she always believed she would.

“We needed to help bring smiles to others,” she said. “We knew how important that is on your darkest days. She made a big impact in her six short years. She was the driving force, and she will always be the driving force.”

Joni started the organization in 2019 with a Kaci Edelbrock Memorial 5k race, which will be held next in May of 2026. Over time, Big Heart, Big Smile added backpack and toy giveaways, as well as scholarship opportunities open to Monroe High School students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants and families received some support to help bridge the gap while businesses were shut down.

Joni’s biggest vision for the organization, however, is to help children deal with grief. That facet, she said, is in its early stages. She met with representatives of the Seattle Seahawks on Monday to discuss the team’s partnership with Big Heart, Big Smile to broaden its reach. She believes the grief resources are crucial, and not always easy to find for the people who need them most.

“Grief is a funny thing, you know?” she said. “I definitely had an experience of, you know, people go back to their normal lives, and I get it. But our life never went back to normal. It can be very isolating when you can’t relate to people, because people can’t relate to you, and some people want to see loss as like, ‘Oh, you’re over it after a year.’ But when it’s your child, you’re never over it. You’re always grieving.”

Chism’s Monday Night Football footwear choice comes from several years of putting himself in others’ shoes.

“I don’t know if I could imagine losing my sister, but I put myself in those shoes sometimes,” Chism told Patriots.com. “I don’t know where I’d be or what I would do next. I think it’s pretty cool that someone started that and gave that platform to the kids. “When (the tragedy) happened, it was a big deal. It was one of those things where you don’t even think it’s real.”

Chism went to school with Joni’s nephew, Colby Kyle, who was a forward on the Monroe basketball team. He also knew Joni’s sons, Lane and Kody Edelbrock. While Chism played in football games for the Bearcats, he wrote “BHBS” in eye black below one eye and “Kaci” below the other, in addition to wearing a Big Heart, Big Smile sticker on his helmet. The connection continued at Eastern Washington University, where Chism became an All-American after breaking current Seattle Seahawk Cooper Kupp’s single-season record with 120 receptions to go along with 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024. He finished his career with 346 catches for 3,852 yards and 37 TDs, and made the Patriots roster as an undrafted player.

While his stats as a football player are impressive, Joni — who teared up as she spoke of what Chism — believes his impact on people is what’s most impactful.

“He means a lot to so many people in this community, and his character is far greater than any athleticism he has — which is incredible as well,” she said. “… The fact that he’s still tying into his hometown is bigger than any sport. Life is just bigger than any sport. He’s capable of seeing that, even though he’s a professional athlete.

“He’s done his work to get where he’s at, but he still shows up consistently for bigger things. As a mom, to see that someone still remembers your daughter, and remembers the why, the impact that a little person could make on someone else’s life. To see that eye black in the pictures when he’s this phenomenal athlete — there’s really no words for that.”

To learn more about Big Heart, Big Smile, click HERE. To donate, click HERE.