MAK loves his mama.
Fittingly today, Mother’s Day, is the final day to participate in the 2nd annual Mark-Anthony Kaye x Single Mothers Outreach sweepstakes.
Prizes include autographed jerseys, Toronto FC Game Day experiences, tickets to the Canadian Men’s National Team Gold Cup match at BMO Field, and All-Access passes to the BMO Training Ground.
It is a cause close to his heart.
“It comes from a place of understanding the struggle of single parents,” said Kaye on Friday from the hotel in Montreal. “My mom did really well to raise me and my brothers in Toronto on what she could afford. She shielded me from the difficulty of what she had to endure, like any parent would to allow their kids to go into everything believing that they can achieve it, regardless of the stresses that go on behind the scenes to give them those opportunities.”
“As I continued to have my own successes in my life, I wanted to find different ways to honour my mom other than just directly. I wanted to create more awareness around the difficulties that single parents go through,” he explained. “In trying to figure out how, I got teamed up with a charity in Santa Clarita, California.”
“\[Single Mothers Outreach\] explained their process, how they try to establish programs and resources for single parents and single mothers to make sure they have what they need and they feel supported,” Kaye outlined. “To get jobs, to get the right type of clothes for interviews, to make sure that kids have after school programs, to have financial literacy programs, a lot of things that I felt, regardless of how well my mom did, that if she had these programs, I'm sure it would have been a little bit easier for her.”
“I wanted to make sure I could draw my followers to something really good,” he added. “This is something I'm going to do every year, but I'm definitely open to doing more and working with some charities in Toronto, my home city.”
Kaye’s mom, Novelette, played a vital role in him becoming the man he is today.
“My mom to me was, and is, hope and security,” he explained. “When I look back at the life I had, my upbringing, and where I am now, my mom never let me believe that I couldn't achieve anything. That's a very special thing to give a child when you're going through so many hardships of your own.”
“When I needed a sense of security, with everything that was going on around her, she allowed me to continue to pursue my passion, continue to flourish, continue to be hungry for success and not get off track. Hope,” Kaye paused. “She gave me hope that I could be someone who would help change our family's course of history, but also help make a difference in the world.”
This will be the first Mother’s Day back in Toronto for the Kaye’s since Mark-Anthony returned to TFC midseason last year. It will be a special one; they all are.
“I'm pretty simple guy. It's all about what she wants to do,” smiled Kaye. “I'll definitely have a call with her [on Saturday] and figure out what she wants her day to look like.”
“Whatever we do,” he closed. “I know she's going to be happy we're doing it.”
