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Austin native and tennis star Andy Roddick will be on the other side of a 155 mph serve Sunday during a roast hosted by the Andy Roddick Foundation.
The Andy Roddick Foundation is hosting a virtual event, "No Love: A Roast of Andy Roddick," at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 to benefit school and summer learning programs for underserved communities in East Austin.
The roast will be hosted by wife Brooklyn Decker, model and actor, and the Andy Roddick Foundation chair Adria Seth with celebrity guests and friends of Roddick: Bobby Bones, Nick Kroll, John Legend, Peyton Manning, Mandy Moore, Kendra Scott, Chrissy Teigen, Tiffany Theissen and Serena Williams.
Andy Roddick founded The Andy Roddick Foundation in 2000 to help communities develop better opportunities for young people. Roddick said since the pandemic, many of the out of school programs formed by the Andy Roddick Foundation had to go virtual which disproportionately affected families who don't have access to reliable internet or devices.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready to take the heat from this roast, but since fundraising has become very challenging with the pandemic, I'm willing to put myself in the fire to support an organization that does such great work for the people of Austin," Roddick said in a statement sent to Austonia.
Decker said she has a lot of experience roasting him on a daily basis.
"We hope that the roast brings people much needed laughs while urging people to donate to the Andy Roddick Foundation," Decker said. `
Individual tickets to join the live stream can be found at noloveandyroddick.org for $25. Guests can also purchase a virtual table starting at $5,000 which gives 10 guests access to an exclusive silent auction as well as a party pack for Austin locals with cocktails, wine, and a dinner from McGuire Moorman Hospitality.More on Austin celebs:
Austin could soon be the set of the 'Walker, Texas Ranger' reboot starring Jared Padalecki(Gage Skidmore/CC)- James Van Der Beek moves family to Texas from California - austonia ›
- Elijah Wood's Victorian Austin home goes on the market - austonia ›
- Fly on Mike Pence during Vice presidential debate gains attention ... ›
- Five reasons why Elon Musk and Grimes should choose Austin ... ›
- MacKenzie Scott donates $9 million to Austin Charities - austonia ›
- "Walker" reboot renewed for season 2 - austonia ›
- Pro tennis heading to Austin with two tournaments this fall - austonia ›
- Billionaire MacKenzie Scott donates $8.5 million to local nonprofit - austonia ›
- Andy Roddick Foundation Gala returns with Leon Bridges concert - austonia ›
- Jared Padalecki says he's 'so lucky' while recovering from car crash - austonia ›
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Caused mostly by a February recall due to contamination issues, followed by the Abbott Nutrition factory closure in Michigan, the shortage has left Austin shelves barren. However, earlier this week, U.S. officials announced a plan with the facility to restart production.
In the meantime, local parents in crisis have turned toward the Mother’s Milk Bank to keep their babies fed.
HEB on East 7th has been picked clean of formula and is limiting purchases. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
The milk bank—which takes donations from lactating mothers and dispenses milk to babies in the NICU—has been helping feed upwards of 30 families in need as the formula supply tightens.
According to the bank’s executive director Kim Updegrove, Mother’s Milk Bank has seen an uptick in calls from parents with healthy babies in need of help since the shortage began.
“We aren't used to hearing from families with healthy infants,” Updegrove said. “They're typically very upset, angry, frustrated, sobbing—it's scary to not be able to feed your infants. So in the past few weeks, those calls have been significantly increasing.”
Mothers are only able to donate if they are within a year postpartum, so Updegrove said they are constantly bringing on and retiring donors. While donors had been on a 30% decline leftover from 2021 when the shortage began, Updegrove said the shortage has led to mass community interest and more than 90 prospective donors in just the past few days.
“We and other milk banks are experiencing significant interest from the community—becoming milk donors and helping to turn around this crisis,” Updegrove said. “Every infant needs to be fed, every one of us can relate to that need, and we need to make sure as a community that it happens.”
Whole Foods downtown was also cleaned out of typical formula. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
While you may still be able to find formula at places like Whole Foods—which currently has goat milk, soy and plant-based formula in stock—Updegrove said it might not be what a baby needs.
Updegrove said it is best to buy types that say “infant formula,” as they are FDA approved and will provide the nutrients, vitamins and minerals a baby needs. Plant-based, homemade, non-cow's milk or diluting formula may not provide the same nutritional value.
As the community navigates the shortage, Updegrove said the most important way to help out is to not panic buy or stockpile.
“This is a crisis for families,” Updegrove said. “This is the time for the community to gather together and figure out what everyone can do to help families with young infants.”
