The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s 34th annual Torch Gala is set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Atlanta, with three fraternity brothers at the helm.
The 2025 Torch Gala Chair Mark Schwartz and his longtime Alpha Epsilon Pi brothers, Neal Maziar and David Rones, are involved in planning the fundraiser. Each of the friends has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, chronic autoimmune diseases that are characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract.
The goal is to raise $800,000 through this year’s gala to fund research to treat and cure Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. In 34 years, the Torch Gala has raised more than $10 million.
“When we first met as Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) pledge brothers at the University of Georgia 45 years ago, we knew we would have a bond for life,” said Schwartz, who was diagnosed 21 years ago. “Little did we know at that time that our bond would be our fraternity, trips, and families, and our shared battles with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.”
Research studies show that approximately 1 in every 100 people in the U.S. currently has Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). An estimated 100,000 Georgians are affected annually by the disease.
