Matt Stafford went through 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. Furthermore, despite the fact that he will be under place for the Los Angeles Rams next season, Stafford and his wife have chosen to leave a gift to the city that greeted him with open arms when he was drafted No. 1 overall by the team in 2009.

On Thursday, Stafford and his wife, Kelly, declared that they are donating $1 million to help assemble a new education center with SAY Detroit, a nonprofit association that helps students from low-income families overcome literacy inequalities and instructive difficulties.

“There are not enough words to truly express how grateful we are to have lived here for the past 12 years,” Kelly Stafford wrote on Instagram. “We came here for football, but we are leaving with a sense of home and endearment. Endearment not only for this city and the Lions organization, but a love for the people who make up this community. Detroit has supported our family not only by showing up on Sundays but also through our most difficult times. You took us in as your own and made Detroit feel like home and that is what it became, our home.

“It has been our goal to always give back to the city. Detroit and its people have blessed us in so many ways, we only hope you have felt our gratitude through our joy of giving back to the city.”

“The Kelly and Matthew Stafford & Friends Education Center” will be implicit Detroit’s Lipke Park on the grounds of SAY Detroit’s Play Center. The facility, which is required to be around 20,000 square feet, will feature six classrooms, learning labs, an auditorium as well as a vocational training space.