Marcus & Blank Honored for Work with Veterans

Nearly 600 people crowded into the Oceans Ballroom of the Georgia Aquarium for the inaugural gala dinner last month in support of the Avalon Action Alliance. The Alliance, which was founded six years ago, seeks to provide personal care and support services to America’s veterans and first responders. It was an important philanthropic initiative of Bernie Marcus, who co-founded The Home Depot.

He contributed more than $250 million in support of programs to aid veterans. Those who filled the many tables in the 23,000-square-foot ballroom he built at the aquarium came as much to honor the Marcus legacy as they did to support this program, which was one of his main concerns in the final years of his long life. Marcus died early in November of last year at the age of 95.

Marcus’ words were among the first that the attendees to the event saw when they opened their program that evening.

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“I want better lives for those who have sacrificed themselves for us in our nation’s great military. There can’t be too many places or too much care for those heroes to find better mental and physical care.”

In attendance at the Alliance gala were members of his family, personal friends, leaders of the Marcus Foundation, veterans who have benefitted from the program and the president and CEO and chairman of the board of the The Home Depot, which has grown into an organization of 475,000 employees.

he Avalon Action Alliance Gala was attended by almost 600 people in the Oceans Ballroom of the Georgia Aquarium.

But it was left to the co-founder of company, Arthur Blank, to pay the deepest words of tribute to a man he described as a brother and an inspiration for the philanthropy of his own family foundation, which now tops $1.3 billion in gifts. His foundation was one of the evening’s main sponsors and he was presented with the organization’s Legacy of Service Award.

“I know Bernie is proud of this work,” Blank said, in accepting the award, “and while he is not physically here with me or with us tonight, he is forever with me, in my heart, and carried in my spirit. His presence is reflected in my commitment to serving others, and I am humbled to stand here tonight on his behalf and to continue to carry on this brotherhood further.”

The evening event raised more than $1 million to further the work of the Alliance. The organization addresses three closely connected physical and psychological challenges that military veterans and first responders often face. It offers a path to healing and a single point of contact for those suffering from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and substance abuse. A total of 20 programs are offered at various facilities around the country including the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, of which Blank and Marcus have been major contributors.

But despite the tens of millions of dollars that the Alliance spends each year, the need is enormous. It is estimated that 2.6 million service personnel and first responders suffer from some form of traumatic brain injury. Another 4.5 million suffer from substance abuse and psychological conditions that can sometimes end in suicide.

Military veterans are nine times more likely to take their own lives from a variety of disorders than to die in combat.

A study by the Pentagon, released in 2021, showed that soldiers are nearly nine times more likely to take their own life than to die in combat. In fact, combat deployment alone is not associated with increased suicide rates. Troops who have not seen combat duty have an even higher risk of suicide.

The trauma of sexual abuse and harassment is also common. Sexual assault and sexual harassment, according to research at Boston University, affects 55 percent of women in the military and 38 percent of men.

The Boston University report concludes that “unless the U.S. government and U.S. society makes significant changes in the ways we manage the mental health crisis among our service members and veterans, suicide rates will continue to climb. That is a cost of war we cannot accept.”

It has been a challenge like this that has given urgency to the work that both the Blank and Marcus Foundations have supported.

During the gala, Marcus Ruzek, who serves as a senior program director at the Marcus Foundation, spoke about the need for solutions in addressing these serious issues.

Ruzek, who served as a Special Forces officer in the Army for 13 years, described the entrepreneurial philanthropy that led Bernie Marcus, in his final years, to direct action.

“We became increasingly frustrated with the Veterans Administration. Bernie acted when there was a massive void. He acted because Bernie was a man of action. He preferred offense to defense, and he was unrelenting in his pursuit for solutions.”