Together with Michigan First Credit Union, Detroit Pistons guard Alec Burks and forward Marvin Bagley III surprised eighteen local families with a holiday gift at the holiday party of the credit union’s headquarters recently.
According to Sports Illustrated, Bagley started by going bowling with the recipients of his generosity, then surprised them by announcing that he and Burks (who couldn’t attend the event) would be paying off their debts, totaling more than $80,000.
The revelation left the attendees in shock. Bagley said, “On behalf of myself and my teammate who couldn’t be here, Alec Burks, we got a special surprise for y’all.”
Showing the giant check, he added, “We’re gonna be paying off one of your guys’ loans, and I just want to say, meeting you guys is a special moment for me to have a position to do this. I just wanna say Merry Christmas.”
One of the recipients, Brenda Craig, expressed her joy at the gift. “I was totally shocked. I’ve had a few rough years, but God has been good to me, and this is just more proof,” Craig said, according to NBA.com.
Along with the check, there was a raffle where participants could win a vacuum cleaner and a 55-inch TV.
Bagley old NBA.com, “It’s a blessing to be able to do this, to help people, see the smiles on their faces and to see how happy they are. I was sitting at home a little before Thanksgiving just trying to figure out different ways I could help and this was what we came up with.”
