Matthew and Kelly Stafford's Gift to Detroit

Matthew Stafford donates $1 million to fund an educational center in Detroit.

Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly have often been generous with their time and money for charitable causes -- both locally and in the state of Georgia. 

It was announced prior to the start of the 2020 NFL season that the Stafford duo donated $1.5 million to the University of Georgia to fund social justice initiatives and scholarships for students in need.

“Just trying to figure out what the best way to make an impact is, and we’ve done some work here in the Detroit area,” Stafford said. “And wanted to do some work back where we spent our college years, and obviously Georgia, was thinking about starting this program, and we were obviously extremely happy to be a part of it.”

© Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press

Now that Stafford and his family are heading out West, they are still leaving their mark in the city of Detroit. 

On Thursday, it was announced that the Staffords have donated $1 million to fund an educational center in Detroit. 

"Kelly and I've spent 12 years here, and wanted to make sure that we left on a high note and left something to come back to," Stafford told WDIV-TV. "We want to come back and be able to be a part of the city for a long time."

The Stafford couple has donated to make the Kelly and Matthew Stafford and Friends Education Center a place that can impact the lives of many for years to come. 

"The new center is going to basically host about 300 kids or 300 students a day," Kelly Stafford explained. "Not only is it servicing children, but it's also going to be servicing adults with GED classes, job training. They have an auditorium for performing arts."

Stafford has a long history of working alongside long-time Detroit Free Press writer Mitch Albom to help improve the plight of the underprivileged in the metro Detroit community. 

Detroit's long-time franchise passer has been a regular at Albom's "Say Detroit" radiothon, and has donated time and money to make Stafford Field a reality at Albom's Say Detroit Center.

"We've been partnered with SAY Play for a while now, and we know how well-run it is. This new education center speaks to our wanting to be involved with Detroit for future years," Stafford said via the Free Press. "It's something that we can be proud of, something we can come back and visit, and also something that hopefully teaches our daughters a lesson down the road.

"That if you're blessed with the ability to give back, you've got to do it, and you should feel great about doing it," he said. "If you have the opportunity to change somebody's life, even one kid's life, you should do it."