Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes helped keep school open with 'miracle' donation
A Toronto school will be able to keep its doors open for a few more months thanks to the help of Raptors star Scottie Barnes.
The Polkadots Playland and Montessori Academy in Brampton, which provides programs for kids from kindergarten to Grade six as well as helps those on the Autism spectrum, has been struggling to pay off a $90,000 debt to its landlord. The struggles started when the academy had to shut down for a period during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That debt had to be paid off before Monday (March 31) and if not, they would be at risk of closing their doors. With that in mind, the school launched an online GoFundMe to help pool together the funds, but they also got some help from Barnes as well, who stumbled upon their story and was inspired to help.
“I got that phone call from someone on his team, and she just expressed that he came across the story, and he was moved by it and wants to help… beyond words, like a literal miracle,” said Polkadots principal Josette Drummond in an interview with NOW Toronto.
The exact amount that Barnes donated was not revealed. The GoFundMe was able to raise over $83,000 on it’s own and Drummond referred to Barnes’ donation as being “offline”.
The Brandon Gonez Show was able to confirm that the school successfully raised enough money to pay off its debt and will remain open for at least a few more months as a result.
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If Raptors fans didn’t already love Barnes, this should help in winning over some haters. Not only is he among the best players on the team, but it seems like he is every bit as invested in the Toronto community as well.
While the school was able to avoid closure this time around, Drummond told NOW Toronto that Barnes’ team has reached out and said they would be open to providing more support down the road as well.
Barnes inked a contract extension with the Raptors last summer that will pay him at least $225 million over the next five years. That number could jump to as high as $270 if he can meet supermax criteria. The contract will kick in starting next season with a starting salary of around $39 million and will increase to about $51 million in 2029-30.
So far this season, Barnes is second on the team in points per game with 19.5 and leads all Raptors players in both assists per game (5.9) and steals per game (1.5).
This may be the biggest assist he’s had all season long.