Local Salute Finding Community

LOCAL SALUTE BY: Mickey Goodman

It’s Personal

The Spandorfers were honored for years of service to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.

Volunteering in their DNA

For their many years of service, Dr. Philip (Pip) Spandorfer and his wife, Ellen, will be honored as Volunteers of the Year at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Annual Torch Gala on Oct. 15. The organization’s goal is to raise $520,000 to fund critical research for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The Sandy Springs residents have a personal connection to IBD. Their son, Jack, now 20, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder when he was 11, and their daughter, Carly, was diagnosed a few years later. “Jack was so ill that he required surgery to remove a portion of his colon, and Carly also required surgery,” Spandorfer says. “Even though I’m a pediatrician, and my wife is a psychologist, we struggled dealing with our children’s pain. When Jack got sick, we contacted the foundation looking for a support group for parents, and they asked if we would like to start a local chapter. That was in 2012, and even though our kids are in college, we’re still involved.”

The Spandorfers also participate every year in the Golf Classic and the Take Steps walk, the Foundation’s largest peer-to-peer fundraising effort for patients, caregivers and friends. Teams vie to raise the most donations, and Spandorfer has had one of the top teams for the last five years. He also serves on the board of trustees.

For more information, visit crohnscolitisfoundation.org/ chapters/georgia.

Chris Butsch is one of the tech community millennials raising funds and mobilizing volunteers to clean up the environment.

Retired Atlanta Hawk star Kevin Willis focuses on giving back to the community.

Finding Community

Tech millennials give back

Battling depression in 2015, Chris Butsch quit his job to travel the world and study happiness in 40 countries. When he returned to Atlanta, the Buckhead resident wrote The Millennial's Guide to Making Happiness. But as a single millennial, he found it difficult to make friends until he began volunteering with Community Bucket.

Founded by former Atlantan Jesse Grossman, the organization that has expanded to Austin and Denver helps young adults make an impact and feel connected through social volunteering.

Last year, Butsch became director of Tech Gives Back, a group that plans quarterly days of giving to connect corporate tech teams to volunteer opportunities that help the environment and raise funds. “There is always a component of fun at the end, like gathering at a brew pub,” says Butsch, who designs the themed initiatives. “We stayed connected virtually in 2020, but this year we’re picking up our shovels.”

During the second quarter, teams played Healing Earth Bingo, a three-by-three bingo board with short eco deeds that have a measurable impact on the environment. For each board completed, Community Bucket donated $10 to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

“We had a cleanup on the river in May and extracted 1,400 pounds of trash and donated $1,275 in addition to completing 93 ecodeeds,” he says. The third quarter initiative supports urban farms such as Concrete Jungle and the Historic Westside Gardens.

For more information, visit communitybucket.com/ tech-gives-back.

Event Facility with a Heart

Supporting nonprofits

By the time 7-foot-tall Atlanta Hawks star Kevin Willis retired after 23 years in the NBA, he had established a pattern of giving by founding the Atlanta Children’s Foundation with his brother, Robert. “It’s for kids ages 6 to 21 living in long-term foster care and one way of giving back to the community that has been so good to me,” says Willis, who also owns Willis & Walker, a clothing line for tall men. His latest philanthropic endeavor is 42West, a 9,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor Westside event facility that will support nonprofits in Atlanta. Clients can choose from a list of preferred food and beverage vendors or supply their own.

The idea for an event facility with a charitable component gelled when he met Lauren Pelissier, a seasoned professional event planner. “We hit it off right away,” Willis says. “We were both ready to do something that would have an impact on the community and formed the 42West Entertainment Group. The name is a play on my Atlanta Hawks jersey number, and our future plans are to open a 42East, 42South and 42North.” Every paid event will include a $200 nonprofit giving fee. “Clients can choose from a list of 501(c)3 organizations that directly benefit the metro Atlanta area,” Pelissier says. “But the biggest giving element is that we will be providing the venue to nonprofits for no rental fee at least two prime days a month.”

For more information, visit 42westentertainmentgroup.com and atlantachildren.org.

Want to nominate a volunteer, company or nonprofit that gives back to the community in Buckhead, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or Upper Westside? Please contact: editor@simplybuckhead.com