EXCLUSIVE: Falcons Ex Matt Ryan Helps Empower Youth - 'It's Always Atlanta'

Matt Ryan's time as the quarterback of the Falcons is over, but his work to improve Atlanta is not. Here's an exclusive look at one of Ryan's most recent stops in his "love letter" to the city.

It's Feb. 23, and Matt Ryan is back in Atlanta.

The Falcons' all-time leading passer is some 11 months removed from being traded to the Indianapolis Colts, ending his 14-year run in the city that took him in as a 22-year-old from the Northeast.

But on this day, football couldn't be further from Ryan's mind.

Ryan, on behalf of his non-profit foundation, Advance the Lives (ATL), is on the west side of Atlanta at a STEM-based organization called Helping Empower Youth, or HEY, ran by Marc Boyd.

A lifelong Georgian and Marine, Boyd's spent much of his career working to help future generations, including a stint as a teacher's aide and after-school program leader at John Hope Elementary School, where he was the lone male - student or staff - at a 600-person operation.

Through it all, Boyd knew he wanted to stay around Atlanta and give back, which led him to co-found HEY. The program does many things, including math lessons, bike repairs and teaching kids primarily aged 14 to 19 how to use hand tools - all for the sake of bettering lives.

"Our mission is to provide an opportunity to inspire, motivate and mobilize young people to take action that changes their world," Boyd said.

This is where Ryan enters the fold.

Advance the Lives receives funds and, through a grant process, gives it back - and HEY was "one of very few" to get $25,000.

Taylor Stanley, ATL's program director, felt like the fit between the two sides was natural considering their shared missions.

“Our focus is organizations that mostly support black youth from the ages of 5 to 24," Stanley said, while adding most work is done on the West side. "We’re focusing on the folks who are doing stuff and meeting the kids where they are where they need to be met.”

And so, Helping Empower Youth, by name and mission alone, was a home-run stop ... and Ryan didn't hesitate. It's important to note that rappers have stopped by HEY in the past and local sports teams like the Hawks and Falcons have donated things, but Ryan was the first professional athlete to walk through the door.

Most importantly, he did more than just walk in - he stayed and left an imprint.

Ryan and Boyd are driving change on Atlanta's westside

For some four hours, Ryan spent time at HEY, talking with the kids, throwing footballs and giving lessons that'll last a lifetime ... which perhaps best summarizes the quality of person he is.

"The thing that really stuck with me is that we weren't prepared for him to come and hang out the amount of time that he did," Boyd said. "He didn't just come like, 'Oh, hey, how y'all doing,' shake some hands, say 'I'm Matt Ryan,' sign some balls and boom.

"He came the entire day of the program. He stayed for our early program - on time, too ... it wasn't some entourage, celebrity. He didn't have all that fake crap."

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It's a Monday afternoon, and Boyd is standing in front of his kids - some of whom play on travel and AAU teams - with a message.

"I was preaching about how it's not about just them individually, it takes all of them together," Boyd said. "How much more powerful they would be - like Voltron, like Power Rangers - if they came and worked together."

Some 72 hours later, it was Ryan speaking to the same group inside the remodeled building once owned by the late Kathryn Johnson, who lost her life due to police violence in a "botched drug raid" during November of 2006.

After individually introducing himself, Ryan spoke with the kids for over an hour, Boyd said. They peppered him with questions, ranging from life-related things to Atlanta's blown 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI and beyond.

For the young interviewers, Ryan was somebody they'd looked up to as motivation to reach professional sports. As the face of the Falcons for north of a decade, he was a known commodity across all households in Atlanta; some of the kids had posters of him hanging up in their rooms.

But Ryan never thought of himself in the light, nor put his own accolades above the team. As a result, the lessons he stressed turned out to be all too familiar with the kids ... and a personal victory for Boyd.

"To actually have him there in the space and tell them that 'hey, it's more than even just you,' it was just great to have him verify that, someone that has made it to the level that he's made it to, to put his stamp on it," Boyd said.

Ryan added a metaphor similar to Boyd's allusion to Voltron, which put the finishing touches on a collective group reaction best summed up as, "oh lord, that's exactly what coach Boyd was trying to tell us."

And with that, the idea of teamwork making the dreamwork came to life - and was quickly followed by another dream coming true.

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What started as a glance quickly turned into recognition and, ultimately, bystanders.

As he did for 14 years, Ryan was tossing a football in Atlanta - this time, on Neal Street.

At 6-4, 217 pounds, Ryan physically stands out. Neighbors and others simply passing through the area noticed his height first and then realized that it was really him.

Some tried to join, others simply struck up conversation with Boyd, saying things like, "I was wondering what y'all did in this house."

On this specific Thursday, the activity at hand was playing receiver for Ryan - up and down the street for over an hour, showing off an arm that Boyd joked was stronger now than during Atlanta's run to the Super Bowl.

From looking up and seeing a poster-sized Ryan on their wall to running routes for him, the juxtaposed experience serves as a tremendous example of how both HEY and ATL have positively impacted the community.

"To go out and have the kids catch passes from him, they still haven't come down from the high," Boyd said.

The only cameras around Ryan's visit to HEY belonged to Boyd and staff; it was as far from a publicity stunt as could be, instead underlying the quality work being done for the right intentions.

Ryan's focus isn't about making headlines - he's done that for years on the football field by default, handling the demands of the quarterback position with the utmost class.

But now, as he prepares to enter a new phase of his life, he's aiming to help Atlanta's next generation, one pass and one visit at a time.

"This is his community, and he knows he’s been uniquely positioned to make a difference," Stanley said. "He always says this work is not something any one person can do by themselves, but he wants to be a part of it.”

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Big platforms come with big responsibilities, and Ryan held claim to one of the largest across the state of Georgia during his time as the Falcons' signal caller ... and he's capitalized on it, maximizing the positive benefits that accompany the role.

“Matt is positioned to where people think it’s cool that it’s Matt Ryan,” Stanley said.

Many athletes and celebrities have the brand recognition to make an impact - but as Boyd phrased it, "a whole lot ... do nothing" with their platform, which is where Ryan is different.

"By the nature of him being Matt Ryan, people give money," Boyd started. "Then who and what he is, he then gives that money out to nonprofits that are actually working in the communities."

But Ryan doesn't stop there.

Instead of simply providing the money, he and ATL are active within the community, as HEY learned. It's not an act, it's who Ryan is ... and he proves it time and again.

“He always wants to say, ‘when can I go out and see the kids?’,” said Stanley.

By name, funding and pure humanity, Ryan and ATL are making a legitimate impact in the community. Within the last month, HEY's had more kids stop by as a result of the word spreading amongst friends about Ryan's visit.

In turn, more are able to learn the STEM and survival skills that Boyd has already taught to so many; it's a chain reaction centered around bettering Atlanta.

This wasn't just a one-off, either.

During that same week in late February, Ryan did work with Raising Expectations, another non-profit on Atlanta's west side. Given the chance in the offseason to prove true to his word and see the kids, Ryan his delivered.

Why? Simple - he's paying it back to the community.

“ATL is kind of his love letter to Atlanta," Stanley said.

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When Stanley, then stationed in Washington D.C., jumped on her first video call with Ryan during the interview process, she had several questions of her own - what’s his demeanor? What’s he like to work worth? Is he serious about what he’s trying to accomplish?

Now some two years and 650 miles later, it goes without saying that Ryan passed with flying colors.

"I wouldn’t have moved my whole family for someone I thought wasn’t easy to work with or wasn’t serious," Stanley said. "There’s a level of trust there that I really appreciate.”

This is largely the same belief held throughout Atlanta. Given his stature, Ryan's naturally made the rounds to various organizations and left significantly positive impressions.

Boyd noted that Ryan's visit to HEY "confirmed" the perception that's been generated within the community - of a standout person, first and foremost.

"I've always heard he's just a great, down to earth guy, that you could ask him anything. I never got any bad, unapproachable quarterback kind of story," Boyd said. "Just a cool guy - that's exactly what we got."

In essence, there's an element of predictability - or as Stanley said, "trust" - with Ryan. He did the same on the gridiron across his tenure in Atlanta, missing only three games while passing for over 4,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons.

Ryan left the Falcons as the franchise leader in passing yards (59,735) and touchdowns (367), both of which rank top-10 in NFL history.

But this isn't a story about Ryan's individual accolades - Advance the Lives never has been.

Instead, it's about the legacy that's been left behind - of a "team player" on and off the field, per Stanley - and the difference-making consistent and authenticity that's made Ryan truly memorable in Atlanta.

"In doing nonprofit work, I've shook all the hands up and down the ladder, and a lot of people, you see them and meet them, and they're totally somebody that you're just 'wow, you're certainly not the person that was on the flyer," Boyd said.

"(Ryan) was the guy that I knew exactly who he was going to be - he wasn't fake."

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When the Falcons chose to pursue other options at quarterback last spring, Ryan's camp largely stayed quiet, handling their business away from the spotlight.

It's a stark contrast from the way other long-tenured quarterbacks have gone about their exits, some of which have burned bridges with cities and organizations alike.

But Ryan? The priority stayed the same: help the city - to the extent that he "never" considered pulling back Advance the Lives' initiatives.

“No matter the circumstance, it’s always Atlanta," Stanley said.

Even when Ryan was away for the season with the Indianapolis Colts, he remained involved throughout the city.

In November, he joined forces with Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota's "Motiv8" foundation; what started as a simple Twitter follow and cold email quickly turned into deeper discussions about overlapping priorities and, ultimately, actions that benefit change.

Motiv8 partnered with an organization called "Shoes that Fit," which provides shoes to kids.

In this case, the shoe fit between foundations, as ATL has an organization - NextGen Men and Women - that works in a local high school, creating a connection that resulted in an opportunity to keep building the program and trust between a newer administration and the organization.

Despite taking place mid-season, Mariota and Falcons fullback Keith Smith showed up. Ryan, still in Indianapolis, couldn't make it, but recorded a video for the students, encouraging them to join the NextGen Men and Women program and recognizing the importance of coaches.

On the surface, the idea of Ryan partnering with the player who took over for him as the Falcons' starting quarterback could come across in an odd light - but dig deeper and it shows his lack of ego and true passion for improving the city.

Moving forward, Advance the Lives is aiming to work with other athletes, past and present, to create a "deep impact" in Atlanta.

Still living in the area, Ryan's focused on giving back - because it's simply the best way he knows how to thank the people who welcomed him into their lives for 14 years.

“I think that ATL is a love-letter to Atlanta, to the fans," Stanley said. "He was the Falcons quarterback for most of the kids' lives. Some of them had never had another until recently. It’s as much of a love letter to them as it is to the city.”

And through it all - be it the highs of winning Most Valuable Player, losing on the game's biggest stage and everything else in between - Ryan stayed committed to the Falcons.

Moreso, he was committed to Atlanta - the city that's helped him start a family and has allowed him to live out his dream.

And now, Ryan's writing back, hoping his "love-letter" helps others live out dreams of their own.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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