Sandy Springs Arts Foundation Honors Joe Alterman
Alterman received the foundation’s inaugural Champion of the Arts Award.
Robyn Spizman Gerson is a New York Times best-selling author of many books, including “When Words Matter Most.” She is also a communications professional and well-known media personality, having appeared often locally on “Atlanta and Company” and nationally on NBC’s “Today” show. For more information go to www.robynspizman.com.

A fabulous evening was recently held with a purposeful fundraiser at Lion’s Gate, a magnificent rental venue and estate receiving glowing reviews, to raise money and awareness of Sandy Springs Art Foundation (SSAF), a mission concentrating on arts outreach to public schools.
Joe Alterman, world-renowned master pianist, and a Riverwood High School graduate, was honored that evening as one of Sandy Springs’ shining stars, receiving SSAF’s inaugural Champion of the Arts Award celebrating his achievement and support of public schools.
Alterman performed a lively and masterful selection of music to a packed house with resounding applause as he played and shared with donors about how rich his public-school experience was and impactful his art instruction has been on his career. The Foundation’s mission is “to elevate all Sandy Springs residents through the arts.” SSAF achieves its goals by not only supporting arts programming, but also by underpinning grassroot art nonprofits in Sandy Springs. To make the night especially memorable, Alterman entertained guests, educating them about the history of selected songs.

Throughout the evening, students from Sandy Springs Charter Middle School performed a variety of selections of holiday and jazz music. A live auction was held to raise additional funds and add to the liveliness of the evening. Trips, jewelry, dinners, and works of art were bid on and the evening raised almost $40,000.
According to Meade Sutterfield, Board Chair of the Sandy Springs Arts Foundation, “SSAF supports the arts programs in the public schools in Sandy Springs. Drawing on the generous contributions from businesses and individual donors in Sandy Springs, the Foundation works with teachers to support their ongoing visual arts, dance, drama and musical programs. Our goal is to give the resources to the teachers to allow these programs to soar and to make these activities available to any student regardless of economic position. A second prong of this effort is the live Annual ArtBeat event at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs. Last January, the event drew 450 student performers and 900 parents, friends and delighted guests to an event free to all. ArtBeat 2025 will be held on Feb. 7 at the Byers Theatre.”
Sutterfield added, “Although a love of the arts is a driver for our Foundation, the greater good is that students who take advantage of school’s arts programs have higher grades, graduation rates and college attendance than others. These art programs give students another reason to value school and find their way forward.”
While there is much to be accomplished, 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 percent or more of the student body comes from economically challenged households), SSAF’s work is so needed.
Maureen Darcy, Executive Director of SSAF added, “Art has the ability to uplift. It builds bridges between cultures, and brings us together regardless of ethnicity, religion, or age. Appreciating the arts positively affects both our well-being and the ability to build a sense of community. Simply put, it transforms.”
For more information about SSAF, please visit www.ssarts.org. To learn more about Alterman, please visit www.joealtermanmusic.com.
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