Earlier this year, the Space Coast welcomed Marcus Maye, Safety of the New York Jets – along with other pro NFL players – in honor of the first annual Maye Day event. Here, children of the Space Coast had the opportunity to learn from the pros themselves.
At this all-day event, children were learning how to properly tackle, throw a ball and glide through the air with ease as they caught footballs across long fields. From all the photos and video taken during this event, one thing was very clear: the kids loved it. Of course, football practice is always fun, but it’s even better when you’re being taught by the men who inspired you to play the game in the first place.
Though this event was unlike anything else the Space Coast has seen, the Maye Day event is only a small glimpse at what is to come from the Marcus Maye Foundation.
Jasmine Windham, PR representative for Select Sports Group and for Marcus Maye, shared that while this foundation is still new, Maye and his family have been working hard to not only plan other events for the community, but to help others as well. Maye, a Holy Trinity and UF alum, is passionate about the area in which he grew up: The Space Coast. So, he created this foundation to “empower the entire community to participate and do good,” said Windham.
The Maye Day event was the first step in getting the community involved, and it definitely worked. Within the first 30 minutes of the event’s posting, registration was full. Of course, being that the event was free, this didn’t guarantee that everyone would show up.
“Sometimes, people reserve their spot and decide on the day of they don’t want to come,” said Windham. But, “90% of people actually showed up to the event, which is a huge number for a free event.” This positivity shown by the community has only made the foundation more excited to keep moving forward with its mission.
Currently, the foundation is funded by Marcus Maye himself, and his mother, Beverly, is helping to champion the foundation, especially as he is currently in season. However, though he’s busy at work, he is still dedicating the time to his foundation. Windham assured me that the foundation does not do anything without his approval. He’s not just a face; he is a highly involved member and leader.
This holiday season, the Marcus Maye Foundation has decided to take a step back from public events, and work with local organizations to help support low-income families and the homeless populations of Brevard. So, while there will be no more events to participate in throughout the rest of the year, the foundation will still be active on the Space Coast.
If you want to keep up with the foundation’s movements, Windham said to follow Marcus Maye’s Facebook fan page. For the time, this will be where the foundation will post more about events or other opportunities to get involved.
