In an interview with NBC Nightly News that aired on Sunday, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank discussed his donation to Westside Works, a job training organization near Atlanta's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Blank donated $15 million to the organization as part of a deal to build Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to NBC.

Westside Works is on the Westside of Atlanta— a community that is largely poverty stricken where many residents don't have marketable job skills.

The organization wants to fix that.

NBC News interviewed two of the hundreds of graduates who helped build the stadium and now work inside.

The program helped turn their lives around and is revitalizing the Westside step by step.

Blank said he's in it for the long haul.

"When you talking about changing behavior patterns of living that have been engrained over the past 30, 40 years, there's no quick fix. There's just not,” Blank said in the interview.

The whole story can be watched on NBC Nightly News’ official website.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (right) reacts with her teammate, guard Rhyne Howard, after a basket during the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Indiana Fever at Gateway Center Arena on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. 
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com