BUSINESS

Second Helpings Gets $50,000 from Rich Foundation

The Rich Foundation has awarded Second Helpings Atlanta $50,000 to continue reducing hunger and food waste in the metro Atlanta area by rescuing healthy, nutritious surplus food and distributing it to those in need. Over the past year, the nonprofit food rescue organization reported a significant surge in need as an increasing number of Atlanta families experience food insecu-

Andrea Jaron said the donation will help rity in response to the pandemic. SHA “drive out hunger” in Atlanta. So far this year, SHA has rescued 1.3 million pounds of healthy, nutritious surplus food to provide over 1 million meals to those in need.

“This generous donation will help us continue to drive out hunger in metro Atlanta,” said Andrea Jaron, executive director of Second Helpings Atlanta. “We rely on our community to help us tackle the very real and debilitating issue of food insecurity every day.”

With a community of over 200 volunteers, SHA serves as the link between food donors and partner agencies who feed the hungry on a daily basis.

The Rich Foundation is a private foundation whose purpose is to benefit nonprofit organizations in the fields of arts, civic, education, health, environment and social welfare in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Established in 1943, the foundation was created to distribute a share of the profits of Rich’s, Inc., the Atlanta department store. Through the years, the foundation has been a major supporter of Atlanta’s charitable and educational life.

Jewish HomeLife’s COO Receives National Award

Jewish HomeLife’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeffrey A. Gopen, has won the Professional of the Year Award presented by the Association of Jewish Aging Services. AJAS represents more than 100 Jewishsponsored, not-for-profit senior care organizations in the United States, Canada, Israel and Australia. The organization presented this award during its annual convention, held virtually in March.

The Professional of the Year award is given annually to an outstanding AJAS member professional who “reflects the highest standards of knowledge and expertise, shows exceptional leadership, and is highly respected by staff, residents, and families served.” Jeffrey Gopen won national

In addition, Gopen was elected treasurer of the Professional of the Year Award. board for the Georgia Center for Assisted Living at its May meeting. GCAL is the local affiliate for the National Center for Assisted Living and serves Georgia’s skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities.

“Jeff has dedicated his entire professional career to improving the lives of older adults,” said Harley Tabak, Jewish HomeLife’s president and CEO. “He has built a top notch operations team that works together, mentors and challenges each other, and has made Jewish HomeLife a stronger, more sustainable organization.”

During the past year, Gopen led Jewish HomeLife’s Incident Command Center, the organization’s COVID-19 Task Force, which managed the organization’s pandemic response and infection control efforts. Under his leadership, the organization has also been able to provide COVID testing and personal protective equipment procurement for other Jewish agencies and day schools around the metro Atlanta area.

Jewish HomeLife is a nonprofit network of nine at-home care services and residential communities.

Alon’s is Coming to Buckhead

By Bob Bahr

Alon Balshan is opening the third location of Alon’s Bakery & Market this month at Phipps Plaza. The new Peachtree Road location will have the same menu and fresh bakery products as his other locations in Dunwoody and Virginia Highlands. The latest location was originally expected to open last June but was delayed because of the pandemic.

The menu will feature freshly prepared breads, pastries, chocolates and European-style cakes as well as soups, salads and sandwiches. There will also be a patio area with outdoor tables and seating. A limited selection of packaged grocery items and wines will also be offered.

The location will occupy the Alon Balshan keeps a hands-on approach former Twist restaurant space near to running his bakeries and markets. Nordstrom on the side of the mall facing Peachtree Road. Alon’s, which first opened in 1992 is owned by Balshan, who moved here from Israel in the mid1980s.

The new 5,000-square-foot Phipps Plaza location is somewhat smaller than the location in Morningside, which is 6,500 square feet, and the Dunwoody market, which is 11,000 square feet.

The business, which also offers catering, is adding a 20,000-square-foot wholesale bakery in Doraville to expand its sales of baked goods to the more than 60 restaurants and other food service locations it now supplies.

The addition of the new Alon’s location is in line with the $300 million facelift that puts less emphasis on retailing at Phipps Plaza. The owners of the mall, the Simon Property Group, touted as the largest operator of American shopping malls, has dropped one of its three large department stores and has plans to add a luxury hotel, a 13-story office tower, a fitness center, additional restaurants and a grassy area for gatherings.

Stern Leads Matrimonial Lawyers in Georgia

By Flora Rosefsky

Carla Stern, an Atlanta family law attorney, has been installed as president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. It is the same position her father, attorney George Stern, once held on the national level.

Carla Stern is a partner at Stern & Edlin Family Law, P.C.

An Atlanta native, she received her law degree at Quinnipiac University, returning to Atlanta in 1990 to practice in her father’s law firm, ultimately becoming a partner. Stern shared with the AJT that George was not only her father but was also her mentor from the time she joined Stern & Edlin until he passed away in 2014.

Carla Stern is president of Georgia chapter of American Matrimonial Lawyers.

“We tried lots of cases together all over the state of Georgia, both jury and nonjury. He taught me everything I know about the practice of law and to this day, I think to myself, ‘what would George do’ when I am analyzing a case.”

Stern said she feels honored and proud to continue to carry out her father’s legacy both in her practice and her involvement in the AAML, where between 1998 and 1999 he served as AAML national president.

Prior to George’s passing, AAML Georgia chapter created the George S. Stern Achievement Award and honored him as its first recipient. Founded in 1962, AAML has chapters in 50 states, and the mission of its 1,650 domestic relations attorneys is to provide leadership that promotes the highest degree of professionalism and excellence in the practice of family law.

Stern, a member of Temple Sinai, is board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, is a fellow in the International Academy of Family Lawyers and has been named on the Top 50: Women Georgia Super Lawyers list for the past two years.

E-Zine for GenXers

A Smyrna Jewish couple recently helped launch a weekly GenX e-zine for members of their peer group. The Fast Times, thefasttimes.net, is a subscription-based email newsletter series targeting GenX and its periphery: younger Boomers and older Millennials, “or as we like to say: GenXers and wannabes,” according to Karen (Barnett) Denker. The third generation Atlantan co-founded the publication with her husband Steve, and another Atlanta couple.

GenX is generally defined as those born between 1965 and 1980.

“At its core, the e-zine explores GenX culture and interests through a modern lens, offering a GenX take on topics, trends and issues that impact our peer group, but with a nostalgic twist and often a bit of smart snark,” Karen Denker said.

“The catalyst for the newsletter was to create something fun and informative for the often ‘forgotten generation'. As many GenXers near (or sail past) the big 5-0, we thought, there has to be something that is more exciting than getting an AARP card in the mail, especially when we are literally decades from retirement.”

The e-zine comes out every Friday with a few core sections within each issue. Among those: topics in the “We Got the Beat” section include the #CancelCulture, 80s tech bouncing back and Twitch gamers “as the new arcade heroes,” she said.

The “Parents Just Don’t Understand” section is “devoted to explaining and breaking down terms and topics popularized by today’s youth … so we know that Gucci is not only a brand, but also an adjective that means cool or awesome.”

“Video Killed the Radio Star” highlights a different iconic music video each week, “especially the ones that were truly groundbreaking, like ‘Kids in America,’ … Each video is paired with facts and a link to relive the experience, just like in the old MTV days,” Denker said.

“Every Monday we drop bonus content via a second e-blast entitled 'The Mixtape,’” she added. “Each issue has a curated grab-bag of links to everything ranging from film and TV to podcasts and books we think are great. This is a play on the actual mixed tapes we used to make ourselves as teenagers, waiting for a particular song to come on the radio, recording it on our own ‘boom boxes,’ and hoping that the DJ didn’t talk over our favorite song.” ì

Karen and Steve Denker, along with another couple, started an ezine for GenXers.