GENERAL ADMISSION $50♥DINNER TICKETS $100 THROUGH NOV 1♥TABLES OF 8 FOR $750♥SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14♥RED CARPET SCREENING♥HOSTED BY AVA BRAATZ♥GENERAL ADMISSION $50♥DINNER TICKETS $100 THROUGH NOV 1♥TABLES OF 8 FOR $750♥SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14♥RED CARPET SCREENING♥HOSTED BY AVA BRAATZ♥GENERAL ADMISSION $50♥DINNER TICKETS $100 THROUGH NOV 1♥TABLES OF 8 FOR $750♥SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14♥RED CARPET SCREENING♥HOSTED BY AVA BRAATZ♥GENERAL ADMISSION $50♥DINNER TICKETS $100 THROUGH NOV 1♥TABLES OF 8 FOR $750♥SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14♥RED CARPET SCREENING♥HOSTED BY AVA BRAATZ♥
PRESENTED BY BECOMING LOVE PROJECT
The Heart Awards
& Fundraising Gala
SAT. NOV 14
DOORS 5:00 PM
The Artisan: A Gathering Place, Buford, Georgia
Join us for an unforgettable evening of honor, story, and celebration!
The Heart Awards and Fundraising Gala is Becoming Love Project’s signature evening: an intimate red carpet premiere, ceremony, and dinner benefiting our Youth Storytelling Program and the year of work ahead.
Tickets and tables
Choose the seat that fits your night. Every ticket supports our Youth Storytelling Program.
EARLY PRICING ENDS NOVEMBER 1
Make a night of it
Staying over? Enjoy our special rate at the host hotel, minutes from the venue.
OUR WHY
The story behind the story
Becoming Love Project began with Founder Tamala Baldwin’s own story. Rewriting her ending, using screenwriting to process her pain and imagine a different reality, changed the course of her life and became a calling to help others do the same. This year, we launched our pilot program, a screenwriting room where a new cohort learned to shape their own stories, on the page and, this November, on set. Their story became the film we’re about to premiere, on the same stage where we honor five people already living that kind of love out loud. Every seat, table, and partnership funds the next room like it.
Four ways to be part of the night
FIRST LOOK
The Way Back Home
After a panic attack forces her home, a high-powered attorney must confront the life she built to be loved and the woman she abandoned to build it.
Becoming Love Project presents a Tamala Baldwin film, brought to life alongside our Youth Storytelling cohort and premiering on the red carpet at this year’s Heart Awards.
Meet the cast
The storytellers bringing our debut feature film to life. From seasoned actors to first-time performers discovered through our Youth Storytelling Program, this cast poured months of work into bringing The Way Back Home to the screen. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating them on the red carpet.
Ericka Alexis
AS DIANA
Terry Henry
AS BEVERLY
Kadeem Isaiah
AS GABRIEL
Wil Cooks
AS JOE
Chantress Williams
AS CANDY
Camay McCollum
AS ZORA
Shawn Francis
AS JAMES
Khrys Styles
AS FRANCINE
Kim Thomas
AS LORRAINE
Katishma Grey
AS CLAUDETTE
Lester Greene
AS BERNARD
T. Richardson
AS KEISHA
George Thomas
AS CALLOWAY
M. Habtemariam
AS MARGARET
Also featuring Yomari Jackson as the Waitress, Ocean Velour Jackson as the Server, and Alphonso Hayward as the Emcee.
2026 HONOREES
Five lives, five stories
Each year, we recognize five community leaders whose lives reflect exactly what Becoming Love Project exists to celebrate: ordinary people who chose, again and again, to become love for someone else.
Dr. Terence Lester
HEART AWARD HONOREE
Malcolm Mitchell
STORYTELLING HONOREE
Sunny Brown
EMPOWERMENT HONOREE
TeeJ Mercer
COMMUNITY IMPACT HONOREE
Zoe Oli
RISING VOICE HONOREE
YOUR HOST FOR THE EVENING
Ava Braatz
Lifestyle Host, ATL Live on Atlanta News First
Atlanta knows Ava from her lifestyle segments on ATL Live, and we are thrilled to have her emcee the Heart Awards, guiding the night from the red carpet to the final award.
PARTNER WITH THE PROJECT
Patron Circles
The Heart Awards is our largest fundraiser of the year, underwriting the Youth Storytelling Program, our annual festival, and everything in between. Partner with us at the circle that fits your vision.
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT BUILDS
Every seat funds a story
WITH GRATITUDE
Our community partners
The businesses and organizations donating goods, services, and expertise to make this night possible.
PRESENTING PARTNER
FAQs
A community coming home
Saturday, November 14, 2026 · Doors 5:00 PM · Black tie
The Artisan: A Gathering Place · 554 W. Main Street, Buford, Georgia 30518
