On a September afternoon in Downtown Alpharetta, the aroma of barbecue filled the streets behind Truck & Tap as professional chefs, restaurant teams and backyard pitmasters fired up their grills. Families gathered around the big screen for college football, children enjoyed games and activities and local businesses joined neighbors for an afternoon of live music and friendly competition.
This was Grilling & Gridiron—Lionheart Life Center’s annual community celebration where great food and football come together for a greater cause.
At the heart of the event is a mission that extends far beyond barbecue: providing individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental challenges—and the families who love them—with hope, support and a stronger path toward the future.
Lionheart was founded in 2000 by a group of parents and professionals who recognized the need for a supportive, nurturing environment for children experiencing challenges with communication and relationships. The organization began in a small cottage on the grounds of Alpharetta Presbyterian Church, where its founders developed a model centered on each child’s individual differences.
Today, The Lionheart School combines individualized education, therapeutic support and relationship-based learning. Its programs help students strengthen communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and social-emotional skills within an environment designed to see, understand and develop the whole child.
As its students grew older, Lionheart recognized another critical need: meaningful opportunities for neurodiverse adults transitioning beyond the classroom.
Lionheart WORKS was established in 2015 to provide vocational training, community engagement and pathways toward sustainable employment for adults ages 18 and older. Through its teamWORKS and iWORKS programs, participants develop practical skills, explore their interests and work toward greater confidence and independence. Since its founding, Lionheart WORKS has served more than 90 adults.
That continuum of support—from childhood development through adult employment readiness—is part of what makes Lionheart’s work distinctive. It reflects the belief that every individual deserves to be recognized for their abilities and given meaningful opportunities to grow.
The Greater North Fulton Chamber recently honored that impact by naming Lionheart Life Center a Nonprofit of the Year alongside Children’s Development Academy.
Lionheart’s connection to the community is also vividly demonstrated through Grilling & Gridiron. Held in Downtown Alpharetta since 2014, the event is built on generosity. Restaurants and individual cooks do not attend simply to sell food; they donate their time, ingredients and talents to support Lionheart families.
One of the afternoon’s signature attractions is the Golden Pig Cook-Off, where restaurant teams and individual cooks compete for bragging rights while helping raise critical funds for Lionheart’s programs. The Best in Alpharetta Contest adds another layer of friendly competition, celebrating the food, talent and businesses that help make the city special.
Awesome Alpharetta and the City of Alpharetta also play important roles in making the event possible, helping Lionheart bring restaurants, sponsors, volunteers and families together in the heart of the community.
For the families Lionheart serves, an event like Grilling & Gridiron provides more than financial support. It creates a visible community around children and young adults whose futures can sometimes feel uncertain—and reminds their families that they do not have to navigate that future alone.
Readers can support Lionheart by volunteering, donating, sponsoring an event, contributing goods or services or connecting Lionheart WORKS with local employment partners. Attending community events, subscribing to the organization’s newsletter and sharing its mission also help expand its reach.
Every wristband, sponsorship, donation and volunteer hour contributes to Lionheart’s ability to provide educational, therapeutic and vocational services. Every connection helps build a community in which neurodiverse children and adults are not simply accommodated, but encouraged to pursue lives filled with greater purpose and possibility.
When the grills cool and the final football game ends, the true measure of Grilling & Gridiron is not who earned the winning title. It is what the community made possible for Lionheart families.
Food brings people together. Community gives people hope. Lionheart transforms that generosity into opportunities that can last a lifetime.