Arthur Blank Family Foundation Donates $200k to Gun Safety, Mental Health Orgs
May 27, 2022
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced donations to the Sandy Hook Promise foundation and the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention on Friday through his Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
Blank donated $100,000 to each organization in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, over the past two weeks:
In his statement, Blank called for addressing the "mental health crisis" in the United States, as well as "sensible gun reforms."
Payton Gendron has been charged with shooting 13 people at a supermarket in Buffalo on May 14, killing 10 of them. The 18-year-old Gendron reportedly posted a racist manifesto online before the shooting.
Each of the 10 people killed in the Buffalo shooting was Black.
In Uvalde, Salvador Ramos shot and killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School, including 19 students. Ramos, 18, was ultimately shot and killed by police when they intervened.
Sandy Hook Promise was created following the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children between the ages of six and seven.
In its mission statement, Sandy Hook Promise notes its goal is to end school shootings through "sensible, bipartisan school and gun safety legislation."
The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention pushes for the implementation of hospital-based violence intervention programs meant to aid those injured in violent attacks both physically and mentally.