LOCAL SALUTE
BY:
Mickey Goodman
Family on a Mission Annual event raises millions for cystic fibrosis Father-daughter duo Millard Choate and Emily Choate Bridges with one of the antique vehicles on display at their annual Cars & Q for the Cause fundraiser.
Her big idea was to combine an antique and collectible car show with a barbecue after the walk. She named it Cars & Q for the Cause, and to date, the company has led the charge and raised more than $3 million for CF. This year marks Cars & Q’s 10th anniversary. It takes place May 4 at the company’s Sandy Springs facility and features more than 120 over-the-top cars, tasty barbecue provided by Jim ’N Nicks, continuous pours from local breweries, a
Dr. Alan Benedict volunteers his services and supplies to help people in underserved countries with visionrelated issues.
Seeing the World Local ophthalmologist gives the gift of sight to those in need In 2005, Buckhead resident Dr. Alan Benedict read an article in a medical journal about Surgical Eye Expeditions International (SEE International) and how it was seeking ophthalmologists and medical personnel to volunteer in countries
where medical services are slim to none. Doctors not only donate their time and pay their own travel expenses, they also take with them all necessary surgical instruments and supplies, including anesthesia, intravenous drugs, eye drops, lens implants and bandages. Benedict signed up immediately and volunteers every other year. On his first trip, Benedict, who opened Georgia Eye Specialists in
CatMax Photography
Emily Choate Bridges of Brookhaven and Leann Ott met in preschool and immediately became BFFs. Their families also bonded, so when Ott was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at age 4, the Choate family joined their friends in an effort to raise money for the Georgia Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), whose mission is to develop new treatments for the deadly lung disorder that affects approximately 300,000 people each year. The following year, Bridges’ father, Millard Choate, founded the Choate Construction company and quickly upped his fundraising efforts. “At first, we had a shotgun approach,” says Bridges, “but when I joined the company, I wanted to focus our efforts on a large event that would pump people up for [CFF’s annual] Great Strides walk.”
silent auction and live music. “We hope to top the $500,000 mark, with all proceeds going to the CF Foundation,” says Bridges. Tragically, Ott passed away in 2018, but thanks to advances in CF medications, she lived far longer than the typical life expectancy of 13 years. Ott was 33 and completing her graduate degree at Boston University when her health failed.
Marietta in 1996, went to Namibia, a land of breathtaking beauty and crushing poverty. “We examined 300 patients and did about 250 surgeries, mostly cataracts, which are a severe problem in impoverished areas,” he says. “People develop them at an earlier age than they do in First World countries because of high exposure to the sun, arid environments and poor nutrition. Many become blind as a result and family members have to care for them.” The youngest patient was only 8 years old. The long day on a SEE International mission begins when medical volunteers travel by van to a field hospital, where they examine patients who are subsequently transported into the villages for the
“The foundation receives no government grants and no big-pharma funding but continues to make amazing strides,” says Bridges of CFF. “A new triple-combination therapy coming to market in 2019 will benefit more than 90 percent of the CF population.” l For more details, visit carsnq.com and cff.org/greatstrides.
surgery if needed. They sometimes do 100 surgeries per day. “Patients are overwhelmingly grateful to get their sight and their independence back and like to give us doctors presents,” says Benedict. “The most touching gift I ever received was from a man who gave me his walking stick made from a branch. With tears in his eyes he said, ‘Because of you, I don’t need it anymore.’” SEE International runs entirely on donations and seeks money as well as medical supplies. Since 1974, volunteers such as Benedict have conducted four million screenings and conducted a half-million surgeries in more than 45 countries. l For more information, visit seeintl.org and georgiaeye.com.
Want to nominate a volunteer, company or nonprofit that makes Buckhead, Sandy Springs or Brookhaven a better place to live? Please contact: editor@simplybuckhead.com
May 2019 | Simply Buckhead
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