Modified On September 6, 2005
The New York Underground Comedy Festival will stage a “Hurricane Katrina Relief Night.” The following is a memo from NYCUCF producer Jim Mendrinos:
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. My name is Jim Mendrinos, and I am one of the producers of the NYC Underground Comedy Festival which runs from Oct. 2-10 here in New York City. As many of you probably know, the festival is not only an industry event, but also a fund raising organization for many charities. Thus far we have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities such as MS Research, Breast Cancer Awareness, and our official charity, Operation Uplink.
This year we have designated the final night of the festival, October 10th, to “Hurricane Katrina Relief Night.” On that night, many of our host clubs such as Gotham Comedy Club, The NY Improv, and Laugh Lounge NYC will be putting together All-Star Benefits for the RED CROSS.
We would like you to be part of that effort. We are hoping to gather the efforts of as many clubs as possible world wide, and have each of you put together a show on Monday, October 10th, to raise money to help the relief effort in that devastated area. Collectively, the comedy community can aid in the long-term recovery of those affected by the disaster. The comedy community is more powerful than we think; lets take this opportunity to show how much we can help.
We have joind with pat Wildon to give clubs 2 dates to chose from, Oct. 10th, or Sept 28th. If you can’t do either of those, but can do anothe, please help.
What we are asking is for you to put together a show in whatever clubs you can that night. Let us help you promote it nation wide. Donate the proceeds to The Red Cross. You make the check payable to the organization so you can be sure that the money goes directly to them, and your accountants will be happy because that check will be a deduction for you come tax time. Remember, even if you can only donate a portion, your check will be added to others so no donation is too small.
We would ask that you commit quickly so we can attract media attention and drive more people out to the clubs on that night. With a month to put it together we can make this a tremendous success. Should you have any questions about this, please feel free to give me a call at 917-650-0759 and we can discuss it.