SSAF’S 2024 “ART SPRINGS FORTH” FUNDRAISER

The Sandy Springs Arts Foundation’s (SSAF) mission is “to elevate all Sandy Springs residents through the arts.” The Foundation achieves its goals by not only supporting arts programming in public schools, but also by underpinning grassroot art nonprofits in the area.

In late November, SSAF held a fundraiser at Lion’s Gate, a beautiful estate just outside Sandy Springs, to raise money and awareness of their mission concentrating on their outreach to public schools. Joe Alterman, world-renowned master pianist, performed and talked to donors about how rich his public-school experience was and how impactful his art instruction was on his extremely successful career. As Joe is one of Sandy Springs’ own, SSAF presented him their inaugural “Champion of the Arts” Award celebrating his achievement and support of public schools. Bravo, Joe!

To make the night even more memorable, students from Sandy Springs Charter Middle School performed a variety of selection of holiday and jazz music. Guests were sure to enjoy their amazing addition to the evening.
Moreover, a live-auction was held to raise additional funds and added to the liveliness of the evening! Trips, jewelry, dinners, works of art were bid on to the benefit of SSAF’s objectives. The evening raised almost $40,000! This is a start as there is so much more to be done. Students with an education including the arts have higher GPAs, standardized test scores and lower drop-out rates. As seven of the 11 public schools in Sandy Springs are Title 1 (40% or more of the student body comes from economically-challenged households), SSAF’s work is so needed. As research shows, the positive effects of the arts especially benefit at-risk students resulting in them being more apt to stay in school and get college degrees.

For more information or to make a donation, please go to www.ssarts.org. Help us make the community an exemplary place for all through the arts.