REPORT: Atlanta gives back for Bernie

Friends of Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot, are throwing a birthday bash for the 90-year-old civic leader. The event will result in a big improvement project for a handful of Georgia institutions that Marcus has supported over the years.

Georgia business and civic leaders are attempting to raise $90 million in Marcus’ honor, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. And they’re very close to achieving that goal. The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation donated $20 million and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation donated another $20 million.

The gifts will be directed to the Georgia Aquarium, the Marcus Autism Center, the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center and the Share Military Initiative at the Shepherd Center.

The celebration marking Marcus' birthday will take place June 9. Marcus and Arthur Blank, with the help of others, founded The Home Depot in Atlanta in 1979.