Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan called a huddle for his shopping team.
He informed them of the situation and called the next play.
“OK, you have your siblings’ gifts taken care of,” Ryan said Tuesday at a sporting-goods store at the Mall of Georgia. “You all have $115 left to shop with.”
Rashan Warren, 12, wanted to know one thing. “Is that enough left to get some football gloves,” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Ryan said.
Ready, break! They were off to find Warren some gloves.
Ryan, his wife, Sarah, and several members of the Falcons’ rookie class, including first-round pick Jake Matthews, took 40 children from the Boulevard area of Atlanta on a Christmas shopping spree.
It was their way of giving back to the community through Atlanta Action Ministries.
“It’s just a fun night to get away from football during the holiday season and spend some time with some kids who are a little bit less fortunate,” Ryan said. “It’s a fun night to brighten up everybody’s holiday season.”
Before picking out their own gifts, Warren and Akhir Carswell, 11, picked out gifts for their sisters. UnitedHealthcare of Georgia hosted the “Shop with a Pro” event, offering children dinner and the opportunity to bond while shopping with Falcons.
Matthews had a little more active crew. He took them to the Falcons section of the store and used part of their $150 gift to buy Falcons hats and Matt Ryan jerseys, before they broke ranks to ride on the treadmills and punch the UFC boxing bags.
“They are wearing me out,” Matthews said.
The event was festive, and most of the kids enjoyed the attention.
“You are really creating some lasting memories for them as well,” said John R. Moeller, the chief operating officer of Atlanta Action Ministries, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty. “We are trying to lead children and their parents out of poverty.
“They have an opportunity through our programs to advance their education with math and English tutoring, but today they get to meet some of the players, who have in some cases come from very trying backgrounds themselves, and they get a chance to see that there is a chance for them to make it big in this world.”
The shopping spree wasn’t only about getting gifts.
“It’s inspiring to be able to spin time with a hero, a hometown hero, somebody they watch on television,” Moeller said. “The quality time that the children are spending with the players is going to last a lifetime and inspire them to great things.”
Rookies James Stone, Dezmen Southward, Jerome Smith, Bernard Reedy, Ricardo Allen, Jacques Smith and Freddie Martino also were hand. Each player took around kids on their shopping sprees.
Former Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez did community work with Action Ministries, and he asked Ryan to keep his good deeds going.
“It’s busy and crunch time for us during the season, but it is important to impact the community and affect people who are a little less fortunate,” Ryan said. “I think everybody in the Falcons organization believes in that, and I’m thankful to my teammates who came out and supported me.”
Also, with all of the negative publicity surrounding NFL players this season, from Ray Rice’s domestic-violence case to Adrian Peterson’s child-abuse situation, the players like shining a light on NFL players doing good deeds.
“Some of the things that are really positives across the league and not just our organization, there is a lot of good that the NFL does and a lot of good that the NFL players do,” Ryan said. “Nights like this are just a small example of it.”
The Ryans quietly do a lot of community work at various other charities, including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“We’re lucky to be in the position that we’re in, and we try to help out as many people as we can,” Ryan said.“It’s a very rewarding feeling to be able to do that.”
After he picked out his gloves, Warren told Ryan that he played football, baseball and basketball. The quarterback encouraged him to stick with sports, but to make sure his tended to studies.
“You want to pay it forward,” Ryan said. “One day, one of these kids might be in this position, and it’s all about giving and helping out other people. Hopefully, that message gets across to them tonight.”
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