The Brittons never felt alone in their walk with Colton. Michelle, who is now the principal in the Rose Tree Media School District, was previously a special education teacher and a school counselor. Chris is a math teacher and head football coach at Springfield (Delco) High School. They’ve had support and resources to help all along.

And that support was needed more than ever when Colton passed away in July 2020. He was 5 years old.

EAF rallied around the Britton family, however it could. Jason Kelce, the future Hall of Fame center and ambassador for the organization, sent a personal message to Colton’s brothers. EAF also provided an outlet for the Brittons to ensure Colton’s name lives on.

The Brittons formed Colt’s Crew in 2021 and started to host fundraisers for the Eagles Autism Challenge. In four years, Colt’s Crew raised more than $100,000 for EAF. With over two weeks before this year’s EAC, Colt’s Crew has already brought in more than $35,000, the team’s most in a single year. Chase, the Britton family’s oldest son, prefers to honor his brother’s memory through his actions. He has devoted himself to growing the success of Colt’s Crew, creating something positive to help others.

In his college essay for Penn State, where he will enroll this fall, Chase wrote, “Through this initiative, I have learned the true meaning of resilience – not just surviving adversity but transforming it into something that benefits others.”

Just further proof that Colton didn’t need a voice to make an impact.

“It’s all for Colton. It’s all for Colt’s Crew. This is something we can do in his name,” Michelle said. “We’re five years going strong. The Foundation is part of our family. Although this has helped us through the grief process, because it’s connected to the Eagles, there’s that sports mentality to it as well, so it allows the boys to not focus necessarily on the fact that Colton isn’t here anymore, but the Eagles are involved.”

In addition to a marquee fundraiser, Colt’s Crew creates T-shirts each year. To say that Michelle loves to design T-shirts is a bit of an understatement. One year, Michelle asked Chris to design a football play where the routes would form a heart. They called it the Colt’s Crew Special in honor of the Philly Special. This year, Michelle planned to pay homage to Kelce and theme the T-shirt to emulate the annual Ocean Drive fundraising event in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.

As Colton would show his family time after time again, not everything will go according to plan.

EAF asked the Brittons to represent the Foundation at the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay. Michelle revamped the T-shirt design to mimic the branding for what has become the NFL’s annual road show. And they’ll be wearing those shirts with pride as they remember Colton and champion the cause for families with children on the spectrum at EAC.