“Together we can all do for each other to help one another”: How Connor McDavid and Lauren Kyle are supporting kids through cancer care and youth sports across Edmonton and beyond
Connor McDavid has never forgotten the impact Ben Stelter had on Edmonton. In Jan. 2026, the Oilers captain returned to a school fundraiser supporting the late superfan’s foundation. His wife, Lauren Kyle, has taken a different path into community work. She serves on the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation board, which helps children access sports. Together, their charity work reaches young people through two different causes.
Connor McDavid keeps Ben Stelter’s legacy alive
On Jan. 27, 2026, McDavid visited Allendale School in Edmonton after the junior high won the Ben Stelter School Fundraiser. Fifty schools joined the campaign, which raised more than $285,000 for the Ben Stelter Foundation.Speaking at Allendale School, McDavid said, “I think kids helping kids is a special thing.” He then highlighted the wider community effort behind the fundraiser.“I hope the one thing they take away is the power of community and what together we can all do for each other to help one another,” McDavid said at the January 2026 event.The connection dates back to 2022. Stelter died from glioblastoma on August 9, 2022, at age six. During the 2021-22 NHL season, he became a familiar face around the Oilers and Edmonton after the team welcomed him into its community.McDavid has continued supporting the foundation created in Stelter’s name. At Allendale School, he explained why its work remains personal.“This is important to me because Ben and the Stelter family is important to me,” McDavid said at the fundraiser.He also highlighted the foundation’s help for families dealing with childhood cancer, including dream experiences, medical equipment and cancer research. The foundation is working to bring proton therapy to Canada and hopes to develop a centre for the treatment.
Lauren Kyle helps open doors to youth sports
Lauren Kyle’s community work follows a different route. She serves as a director on the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation board, which supports children, families and communities across Oil Country.One of its major programmes, Every Kid Deserves a Shot, focuses on reducing barriers that can prevent children from taking part in sport.The programme reached 65,449 children across 139 communities in 2025, including 11,305 girls and young women. It also gave 8,697 children their first hockey experience. The foundation distributed $11.5 million to charitable causes during the year.Lauren has also taken part in fundraising for the initiative. In September 2025, she hosted a charity poker tournament supporting Every Kid Deserves a Shot.That gives the couples two distinct charitable paths. Connor has continued to stand behind the Ben Stelter Foundation and families facing childhood cancer, while Lauren has taken a board role focused on expanding opportunities for young athletes.Their causes differ, but both connect their public lives in Edmonton with efforts aimed at helping children and families.
