Why One Couple Decided to Give Through the Community Foundation

Sometimes it just takes eyes willing to see the need.

“I’m amazed at the phone calls we get, through our church, from people who live just down the street from us but need food and healthcare. If you open your eyes and look around, there’s a huge need all around us,” said Lori Massaroni.

For Lori and Ken, her husband, community involvement has been part of their lives for years. When they first moved to Georgia and lived in Berkeley Lake, they discovered they lived in a very civic-minded community.

“We were surrounded by a fairly generous group of people who were deeply involved in what was going on,” said Ken, a recently retired attorney. “In fact, our neighbors, who would grow to be our close friends, were Dick and Deb LoPresti, long-time supporters of the Community Foundation. Being around people like them and others helped us develop our own thinking about giving – not only in terms of money but also time and talent.”

The Massaroni’s eventually moved to Minnesota, but loved Georgia so much that they came back. This time they moved to Brookhaven with their younger daughter, a graduate of the Marist school and currently a freshman at The Catholic University of America. Again, they jumped into community involvement, getting connected with the Community Foundation through the LoPrestis.

“Every single individual that we’ve been introduced to through the Community Foundation, whether Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta or Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett, or other folks we’ve met along the way, are all tremendous organizations and individuals,” Ken said. “The Community Foundation is clearly fueled by a powerful desire to do good for the community. It’s hard to not love everything going on there!”

For the Massaronis, one of their main interests is healthcare, along with education. To help show them what’s happening in our community, Randy Redner, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO, has taken them on several field trips – including a hard-hat tour of CHOA’s newest facility.

“That is a terrific facility,” Ken said. “It’s incredible what they are planning and how they will be able to help children even more.”

Ken has also joined the board of Good Samaritan, while Lori is focused on healthcare needs as well, and food insufficiency.

“When we lived here before, I was the director of Berkeley Lake Meals on Wheels,” Lori said. “So food issues and helping with those are definitely something I am interested in.”

Being able to get first-hand looks into various issues and how they can help through giving has been invaluable to the Massaronis.

“Participating through the Community Foundation was the perfect vehicle for us because it allowed us, through Randy and his team, to become much more aware of the needs in the community. And who is doing good work in the areas we are specifically interested in,” Ken said. “I think it’s tremendously logical to go through the Community Foundation because of all they are doing already, how close they are to the organizations, their ability to identify high-performing nonprofits and those who need a leg up, as well as important issues that are just starting to be addressed.

“They are just such a tremendous group of high-energy folks who are dedicated to the mission and the causes they are supporting.”

To discover how you can become a fundholder at the Community Foundation, contact Randy Redner at 770-813-3380 or rredner@cfneg.org.