Alpharetta Resident To Be Honored As Volunteer Of The Year

Press release from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation:

Oct. 6, 2022

On November 5, 2022, Andrew Goldberg, VP of Corporate Strategy for Cox Communications and a longtime volunteer with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, will be honored at the Gala as the Volunteer of the Year, for his work with raising funds for and awareness of IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis.

With several family members impacted by these diseases, Goldberg has dedicated his free time to helping find cures. Over the last seven years, he has raised over $200,000 for the Foundation. He is an immediate past president of the board of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation - Georgia Chapter and a member of the Chapter’s Nominating and Volunteer Engagement Committee.

“I started volunteering with the Foundation about 7 years ago after discovering my wife, Wendi, had Crohn’s, and that both by brothers, as well as my father, had begun their own battles with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Goldberg says. “Wendi struggled for 5 years before being properly diagnosed, and I was on a mission to learn more about the disease and how to fight it, to raise awareness so others would get the treatment they need even sooner than we did, and to raise money to help improve patients’ quality of life. And ultimately, to help find a cure.”

Research studies show that approximately 1 in every 100 Americans currently have IBD, and an estimated 100,000 Georgians are affected annually by the disease. The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is the largest non-profit voluntary health agency dedicated to finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improving the quality of life of those affected.

“The Foundation is the single, largest source of funding for IBD causes - so if we don’t support it, we will fail to drive the Mission forward,” Goldberg shared of his motivation to continue raising funds. “Patients’ quality of life has improved because of the Foundation, and we’re making progress towards achieving sustained remission, if not a cure. But we have to keep investing to reach the goal.”

Neal S. Maziar, Partner & Chief Revenue Officer in Springs Publishing and Torch Gala Chair said, “We are thrilled to recognize Andrew as the Volunteer of the Year. His years of raising funds and volunteering, especially his leadership of our board through the pandemic, has made him an invaluable partner of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.”

On November 5, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is pleased to host its 32nd Annual Torch Gala at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta. The goal: to raise $555,000 through the Gala, with proceeds going toward funding critical research, to better diagnose and ultimately cure, IBD. It is at the Gala that Goldberg will be honored.

Goldberg shares, “I’m a little uneasy about being honored, to be honest. There are so many outstanding volunteers who deserve the recognition as much or more than I do. That said, I’m honored to have been chosen, and have much respect and great appreciation for past honorees. And given how important the cause is to my family and me, I’m happy to use the platform as a way to promote the great work being done by the Foundation, and to encourage others to join me in supporting it.”

For over 50 years, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation has been inspiring and engaging patients and caregivers in the country’s largest IBD community and helping to dramatically accelerate the pace of research by breaking down traditional barriers to patients, data, funding, and collaborations. They also provide extensive educational resources for patients and their families, medical professionals, and the public.

This press release was produced by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. The views expressed here are the author's own.