Maggie Baird and Dejea Lyons Headlined Captain Planet Foundation's Annual Benefit Gala, Atlanta's Largest Environmental Fundraiser, on March 15

ATLANTA, March 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Atlanta-based global nonprofit Captain Planet Foundation (https://captainplanetfoundation.org/gala) held its annual Benefit Gala, one of the Southeast's largest eco-benefits, March 15 at Flourish Atlanta, recognizing environmental heroes Maggie Baird, Dejea Lyons, and Steve Koonin.

The charitable event recognized extraordinary environmental change-making and has raised more than $11 million over 13 years for the Foundation's mission to engage and empower young people to be problem-solvers for the planet.

Maggie Baird, mother of musicians Billie Eilish and Finneas and founder of nonprofit Support+Feed, received the Superhero for Earth award. Support+Feed works with restaurants, farmers, and nonprofits to fight food insecurity by providing plant-based food options across 11 U.S. cities, including a recent expansion to Atlanta.

Dejea Lyons is a leader of the youth-led environmental nonprofit Protect Our Future, which prevented a Carnival Cruise port from destroying the reef off of George Town in her home in the Cayman Islands. Dejea received the Young Superhero for Earth award. 

Steve Koonin is CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, the world's first TRUE Platinum certified and zero waste sports and live entertainment venue. Steve received the Superhero for Earth Exemplar award; Sofi Armenakian, head of sustainable strategy for Hawks/State Farm Arena, accepted on his behalf.

"Green carpet" arrivals included comedian and actor Chris Tucker, former Atlanta Falcon Ovie Mughelli, and CPF chair emeritus Laura Turner Seydel. WSB-TV anchor Jorge Estevez emceed. Guests mingled with celebrities and civic leaders, bid on live and silent auction items featuring one-of-a-kind trips and eco-luxury experiences, and enjoyed a cocktail reception and dinner.

Visionary Sponsor: Delta Air Lines. Guardian sponsors: The Atlantan/Modern Luxury; Turner Enterprises, Inc.; and Warner Bros. Discovery. Hero sponsors: Atlanta Hawks, Cox Enterprises; Eunjae Kim and Arturo Peralta-Ramos Charitable Trust; Genuine Parts Company; Georgia Natural Gas; Jane Smith Turner Foundation; Isdell Family Foundation; Kellogg Garden Products; Emma Cecil & Bilal Malik, Ginair & George McKerrow; Cat & Parrish Owens; Randy Rudderman, M.D., FACS; Pat Mitchell and Scott Seydel; and Voya Financial. Gala co-chairs: Eunjae Kim Peralta-Ramos, Clark Seydel, Pat Mitchell and Scott Seydel, Emma Cecil and Bilal Malik.

Over the past 34 years, more than 1.7 million children have directly participated in CPF's programs, which have funded more than 3,700 projects, impacting 11.4 million young people around the globe. CPF was formed in 1991 and was based on the critically acclaimed animated series "Captain Planet and the Planeteers," co-founded by media mogul Ted Turner and series executive producer Barbara Pyle. More information: www.captainplanetfoundation.org.

CPF's operating programs include Project Learning Garden (www.captainplanetfoundation.org/programs/project-learning-garden),which has provided 750 U.S. elementary schools across 43 states with onsite learning laboratories and healthy food access; Green Heart STEM Challenge for Environmental Justice (https://captainplanetfoundation.org/programs/green-heart-challenge), a purpose-driven STEM Challenge that supports 6^th–8^th grade students to innovate and develop place-based solutions to challenges posed by climate change; and Planeteer Alliance (https://captainplanetfoundation.org/programs/planeteer-alliance), a global network of thousands of young people who are putting their passion and impatience for change into climate action for the planet. 

Media Contact: Anne Isenhower, 404-353-6088, [email protected]

SOURCE Captain Planet Foundation