The Not Alone Foundation announces the 5th Annual Diamond Awards charity gala. The star-studded community celebration will be held Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:00
p.m. at Northside Hospital in Canton, Georgia and will feature live performances by Grammy Award-winning Dionne Warwick.
NAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance and educational and medical resources for chronic kidney
disease and end-stage renal disease patients and their families. Using the platforms of entertainment, wellness, arts and
design as mediums to help forward our mission, NAF educates, inspires and uplifts, working determinedly to confront and conquer
this global epidemic. In addition to the integration of our four core programs, NAF supports interconnected health initiatives such
diabetes and high blood pressure awareness, as well as cancer prevention and integrative treatment.
The Diamond Awards, a subsidiary of NAF and the foundation’s largest fundraising effort, is a program designed to honor faces and
images of excellence in the entertainment, corporate and creative industries and the local community. Each award salutes the
professional accomplishments and civil contributions of its recipient to our society on a local, state, national or international level.
“The responses to the planning of the Diamond Awards has been positively overwhelming,” says Mark Dodd, founder and CEO of
The Not Alone Foundation. “I am especially grateful to have the incredible support of Cherokee County,” he continues. “To think
that just seven years ago we started out at a local church with only a wing and a prayer. Through unwavering faith and the dedication
of various allies along the way, we still stand as a beacon of hope for those in need.”
In 2013, NAF awarded its first grant, which supported the recipient’s quest to be placed on the national kidney transplant list. “That
was a big moment for us,” says Dodd. “Managing kidney disease is draining emotionally and financially. “If we can help but one person,
we are fulfilling a life-saving promise.” Since then, the Diamond Awards has awarded over twenty grants in gifts and services to kidney
patients.
The return of legendary songstress Dionne Warwick to the Diamond Awards also speaks volumes. Warwick is the recipient of the
Diamond Awards 2013 Chairman’s Award. This will be her third year supporting the cause. This cause is near, and dear to my
heart”, states Ms. Warwick.
Amongst this year’s honorees are TV host Ty Pennington, Vice-President, AT&T, Mr. Anthony E. Tuggle, President, Arkansas
Education Association, Brenda Robinson, President and CEO of Excel Services Corporation Donald Hoffman, actor Colton
Tapp, philanthropist and attorney William “Billy” Hasty Jr., former Mayor of Waleska, Georgia Marguerite Cline, Pastor of
Beulah Missionary Church Rev. Jerry D. Black, County Manager of the Cherokee Board of Commissioners Jerry Cooper,
Associate President and Financial Center Manager of Fifth Third Bank Matthew King, Edward P. Mahan, PA-C, Georgia Lung,
Dr. Michel D. Brathwaite, MD, Southwest Atlanta Nephrology Group. Also appearing is Dr. Coy Lassiter, MD, Chief Medical
Officer, Specialty Care Piedmont Physicians and Dr. Sammy M. Mugambi, Southwest Atlanta Nephrology Group. “These
individuals are community servants and champions. We are honored to recognize them all,” says Dodd.
The Not Alone Foundation relies on donations from private foundations, businesses and individuals to serve its mission. The
goal of the organization is two-fold: to help adult ESRD patients become members of the official kidney transplant list and to
support the families of children and teens suffering from ESRD. The foundation is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mark Dodd, a Morehouse College graduate, was diagnosed with kidney disease 2007 while matriculating and faced difficulties in his
efforts to be placed on the official transplant list. NAF is a testimony of his dedication to create change and save lives, including his
own. He is on dialysis 10 hours daily and has been on dialysis for over 10 years.
Tickets to the Diamond Awards are $125 each. For more information, including a full list of all honorees and presenters and to
purchase tickets, visit https://thenotalonefoundation.org.
About Post Author
