Drake Maye, quarterback for the New England Patriots, and his wife Ann Michael made a $15,000 donation to Alfred Lima Sr. Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island through their nonprofit foundation, covering classroom wish lists for all 54 educators at the Title I school. The surprise donation came as an email from Maye's team offering to fulfill the teachers' supply needs ahead of the new academic year, touching many staff members deeply.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and his wife, Ann Michael, have paid for the classroom wish lists of all 54 teachers and support specialists at Alfred Lima Sr. Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Maye → pay → Providence
The donation was made through their nonprofit, the MayeDay Family Foundation, as the school prepared for the new academic year.
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school → make → year
According to WPRI 12, the surprise began with an email sent to Tonya Costa, principal of Alfred Lima Sr. Elementary School.
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surprise → accord → School
Costa was preparing for her 26th year in the Providence Schools district when she received a message saying that someone was reaching out on behalf of Maye.
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someone → prepare → Maye
She forwarded the message to her assistant vice principals, Kelli Goodwin and Elizabeth Melendez, before the three women looked into it and spoke with Maye.
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women → forward → Maye
"I'm not gonna lie, we were a little skeptical at first because we get a lot of emails.
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we → go → emails
But we did a little research and talked to him and we realized it was real," Costa said, as quoted by WPRI 12.
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Costa → do → WPRI
Once the school confirmed the offer, the Mayes worked with the staff to decide how they could help.
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they → confirm → staff
They eventually agreed to cover the Amazon classroom wish lists of all 54 teachers and support specialists at the school.
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They → agree → school
The gift was then turned into a surprise for the educators.
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gift → turn → educators
Costa, Goodwin and Melendez called the teachers and support staff to what they described as an emergency meeting.
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they → call → meeting
Instead of an emergency, the staff were told that the Mayes had agreed to pay for their classroom supplies.
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Mayes → tell → supplies
"It was amazing," Costa said.
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Costa → say → ?
Donation supports a Title I school
The donation is particularly significant for Alfred Lima Sr. Elementary School because it is a Title I school.
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it → support → School
Such schools receive federal financial assistance through the US Department of Education because they serve a high percentage of children from low-income families.
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they → receive → families
Costa said about 98% of the school's students receive free or reduced-price lunch.
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% → say → lunch
The school also has more than 400 multilingual learners, meaning those students speak Spanish or another language as their first language.
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students → have → language
So, 98% of our kids get free or reduced lunch.
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% → get → lunch
We have more than 400 multilingual learners, which means 400 of our students speak Spanish or another language as their first language.
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400 → have → language
This provides them the opportunity to get special supplies for the kids in their classrooms that they wouldn't have otherwise," Costa said.
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Costa → provide → that
The Mayes donated $15,000 in gift cards to the school to cover the cost of the 54 classroom wish lists.
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Mayes → donate → lists
Tasha White, a library media specialist at Alfred Lima, said teachers often use their own money to purchase classroom necessities.
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teachers → say → necessities
"Most teachers have to take money out of their own pockets to buy a variety of supplies that are really necessities in the classroom," White said.
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White → have → classroom
"We are just so thankful for their generosity and for looking out for us."
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We → look → us
White said the donation would also give educators the opportunity to purchase supplies beyond the basic necessities.
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donation → say → necessities
She described some of these as "luxury" supplies that could be used to enhance learning.
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that → describe → learning
"It's a wonderful feeling," White said.
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White → say → ?
"We now have the chance to do things we otherwise wouldn't have been able to do.
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we → have → things
"
Teachers learn about surprise donation
For the educators, the announcement came without warning.
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announcement → learn → warning
Kristen Ayotte, a third-grade teacher at Alfred Lima, said she was especially excited about the donation because she is a Patriots fan.
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she → say → donation
"I am a big Patriots fan, so to tell my students and my own children that I was receiving a donation to purchase supplies for my classroom was super exciting," Ayotte said.
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Ayotte → tell → classroom
The MayeDay Family Foundation was launched by Maye in March.
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Foundation → launch → March
Its first activation was a celebrity softball classic held at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts, in May.
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activation → hold → May
The event raised more than $500,000 to benefit children and families in need in New England and North Carolina.
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event → raise → England
Maye later spoke about the Providence school donation after practice on Wednesday.
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Maye → speak → Wednesday
He said his wife was the person behind the idea for the gift.
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wife → say → gift
"In our light, we have been blessed by the lord and in what we have been given and we're trying to share it with others," Maye said.
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Maye → bless → others
The school is now planning another event connected to the donation.
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school → plan → donation
Staff members want to invite the Mayes to Alfred Lima for a "Maye Day" in May, giving educators an opportunity to thank the couple in person.
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members → want → person
Goodwin said the gesture has continued to affect the staff.
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gesture → say → staff
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
