Safety Richie Grant is in his first year with the Atlanta Falcons. | Atlanta Falcons
Safety Richie Grant is in his first year with the Atlanta Falcons. | Atlanta Falcons
Several Falcons rookies were inspired to give back to their community Sept. 19 at the annual Rookie Club Dinner, according to a team news release.
The purpose of the Rookie Club Dinner is to show the newest Falcons players how they can use their newfound platform to give back to the community and have an impact, the release said.
As Jasper Jewell, the Atlanta Public Schools athletic director, told a story about Falcons player Richie Grant, he tried to impress upon the rookies what an impact their mere presence has on students and athletes in the Atlanta school system.
Jewell and Grant had met earlier this year through a mutual friend while training at Walden Athletic Complex, and Jewell was one of last speakers at the Rookie Club Dinner. Jewell told the story of how Grant's encounter went so well, he later told his student athletes about it, and the Jewell said the kids went crazy over the fact Grant had trained at their facility.
Grant commented on the impact, saying, "I didn't expect that at all. It really hits you that you can impact kids, just by being you, by representing that Falcons logo. But they also knew my name and so much about me, which was a reminder of just how many people watch what we do."
Grant said that hearing the Jewell's story made him think how he had to get back to his hometown and in front of kids to start working with them.
The release said the team hopes that the Rookie Club Dinner can inspire the rest of the Falcons rookies to take action in a similar way.