Tickets Still Available for SalusCare Comedy Night

FORT MYERS, Fla. - July 7, 2015 - PRLog -- A few tickets are still available for “Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night,” a unique new event to benefit SalusCare, the region’s largest provider of treatment for individuals with mental health and substance use issues.

The fun starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 25, at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers.   Individual tickets may be purchased at www.saluscarecomedynight.org or by calling 239-791-1575.  Tickets for individual seats are $100 each and include heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine in theater-style seating. All tables have been sold.

Eight local celebrities will each perform a five-minute stand-up routine for event attendees who will “vote” for the best comedic performance with their dollars.

The local celebrities who will exchange laughs for votes are:

●  Michael Harris – News-Press Planning Editor

●  Larry Hart – Lee County Tax Collector

●  Gwendolyn Howard-Powell – owner of Gwendolyn’s Café

●  Doug Molloy – former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney

●  Steve Russell – State Attorney for the 20^th Judicial Circuit

●  Marni Sawicki – Cape Coral Mayor

●  Mike Scott – Lee County Sheriff

●  Dr. Glenn Whitehouse – FGCU Associate Dean, Planning &          Assessment

Nationally recognized comedian Michael Palascak will perform the grand finale while the votes are being tallied.  In the last three years, Palascak appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  He also has performed at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and was the winner of HBO’s Lucky 21 Stand-up Contest.

NBC-2 Chief Senior Meteorologist Robert Van Winkle will serve as master of ceremonies.

Edison National Bank has signed on as the “Showcase Sponsor,” the highest level sold for the event.  Other major sponsors include Sam Galloway Ford, Investors’ Security Trust, Bill Smith Appliances, Marrikka & Bill Stockman, and The News-Press Media Group.  Monologue sponsors are Susan Bennett Marketing & Media and Genoa Pharmacy with additional support from 20 table sponsors.

“We are very thankful to the leadership of Edison National Bank and our other top sponsors for their generosity in supporting our mission to treat individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.” said SalusCare Development Committee Chair Mark Atkins.

Funds raised at the event will be used to provide outpatient psychiatry and therapy to children and adolescents in our area whose families can least afford it.   One in 10 children has serious mental health problems severe enough to impair how they function at home, in school, or in the community, according to the National Center for Children & Poverty at Columbia University.  Left untreated, mental illnesses can lead to more difficult to treat illnesses and to the development of co-occurring disorders.

For more information about sponsorships and “Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night,” contact Todd Cordisco at (239) 791-1575 or visit www.saluscarecomedynight.org .

About SalusCare, Inc.

SalusCare, Inc., is the largest, most comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment program in Southwest Florida, serving 18,000 people per year of all ages from seven locations in Lee County.   The non-profit organization offers crisis stabilization, outpatient and residential treatment as well as prevention programming and an Employee Assistance Program for about 50 area companies. The majority of programs are accredited by CARF, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

SalusCare services are not free.  Fees are charged on a sliding scale, based on family income.  In many cases, private insurance is accepted.  SalusCare is a United Way partner agency.

For more information, call 239-275-3222 or visit www.SalusCareFlorida.org.