Laughing for Literacy: READ Young Professionals Board Hosts 2nd Annual Fall Fundraiser

Sept. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- NEW YORK, NY, October 8, 2009 - The Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation’s Young Professional Board (READ YPB) will host its second annual fall fundraising event, “Laughing for Literacy,” on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The fundraiser will take place at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St. The event is open to the public.  The cost is $85 per person ($150 for two) and includes a top shelf open bar and a full hour of comedy from top stand-up comedians, including Todd Barry and Ted Alexandro. Raffle tickets are also being sold for $10, with prizes including a four-night stay at Villas Lindas in Puerto Rico, tickets to a New York Knicks basketball game, and a case of wine.

Proceeds from this event will allow READ to improve the reading proficiency of more than 1,100 at-risk kindergarten and 1st grade children; recruit, train, and provide community service opportunities to approximately 1,000 inner-city teens; and provide 500 teens with paid jobs as tutors to younger children in their communities.

Comedian Todd Barry is known for his appearances on shows like Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Home Movies, Wonder Showzen and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He has most recently appeared in HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and the Academy Award nominated film The Wrestler, in addition to his multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Chappelle Show.

Alexandro has appeared on Conan, Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel and The View, and has had his own half hour specials on Comedy Central. He was described by Uproar saying that, “With an appeal similar to Ray Romano and Jerry Seinfeld, Ted Alexandro may very well become New York’s next big hit!”

Joining Barry and Alexandro will be fellow comedian Wali Collins, who has been nominated three years in a row as “College Campus Entertainer of the Year.” Collins performs regularly at all of the mainstream comedy clubs in New York and Los Angeles and has appeared on Comedy Central, VH1 and Letterman.

“Laughing for Literacy is a unique approach to making READ’s work with children and teens possible in light of a difficult economic climate,” said Lee Camp, a founding member of the READ YPB and the emcee for the night.  Camp has appeared on Comedy Central’s Fresh Debate ’08.  Camp has also done comedic commentary on E! Network, SpikeTV, MTV and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

To reserve tickets or for more information about READ, please visit http://www.readnyc.org

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READ recruits, trains and employs teens to teach reading skills to their younger peers who are struggling with learning to read. READ employs one-on-one research-based reading instruction to prepare at-risk children to become proficient readers. READ is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.