The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF) unite to present the third annual Stand Up for Heroes: A Benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation at Town Hall in New York City at 8:00 PM on Wednesday, November 4th. Brian Williams will host Stand Up for Heroes, which will feature star performances by Louis C.K., Stephen Colbert, Lisa Lampanelli, John Ondrasik, Bruce Springsteen and other surprise guests. These and other A-list entertainers have agreed to Stand Up for Heroes and ReMIND our nation that "Support our troops" is no longer a slogan. It's an action. The evening promises unforgettable performances, laughter, and sincere gratitude, with proceeds going to the BWF.
For the third consecutive year, all of the nation's living presidents have officially expressed their support to the Stand Up for Heroes event. President Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama, President George W. Bush, President George H. W. Bush, President Jimmy Carter and President William J. Clinton serve as the Presidential Committee for this year's event. Major television network executives join the Presidents as event co-chairs including Steve Capus and Sophia Faskianos (NBC), Ken and Kristin Jautz (CNN), Jon and Jennifer Klein (CNN), Sean and Tracy McManus (CBS), Philip Miller and Anne Sweeney (ABC), Richard and Lisa Plepler (HBO), David and Sherrie Westin (ABC), and Jeff and Caryn Zucker (NBC).
Tickets for this event are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com, www.nycomedyfestival.com and www.ReMIND.org.
"Thank you for joining with us to Stand Up for Heroes - tonight, and for the future. Because of you, we're helping injured service members return to a home front ready to support them. There's no greater way to honor them, and we're proud to do it together," said Bob and Lee Woodruff, co-founders of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
In January 2006, while reporting for ABC News, Bob Woodruff was severely injured in Iraq when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb. Both Woodruff and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, sustained multiple life-threatening wounds. The Woodruff family established BWF in February 2007 to raise awareness and money to assist members of the U.S. military injured while serving. Woodruff and Vogt have both recovered from their injuries.
"Through the Woodruff Foundation, Bob and Lee have made tremendous strides ensuring our heroes return home to the assistance they need and the support they deserve," says Caroline Hirsch co-founder of the Festival and owner of Carolines on Broadway. "The New York Comedy Festival is thrilled to present Stand Up for Heroes for the third consecutive year, raising awareness and funds for the U.S. service members and their families who need it most."
Stand Up for Heroes is a night of comedy and music to benefit BWF. More than fifty military families will be honored at the event and represent the 1.9 million who have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11. "BWF has raised over $6 million, used to increase awareness and invest in programs throughout the country. We are empowering local communities to take action to assist service members and their families as they reintegrate home," said René Bardorf, Executive Director of BWF. Past performers have included Conan O'Brien, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, Lewis Black, Regis Philbin and Whoopi Goldberg.
2009 Stand Up for Heroes sponsors include: Woman's Day Magazine, GFI Group Inc, The New York Comedy Festival, philosophy, art of grace, Porter Novelli, JWT, New Partners, NBC, Nestle Cranberry Raisinets, Force Protection, and Hampton & Co. For more information on sponsoring this event, email SUFH09@gmail.com or call 917-639-7263. Recent BWF activities include working with the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital to participate in the Home Base Program launch.
BWF is honoring veterans, service members and their families with a week-long celebration beginning on November 4 with Stand Up for Heroes. Throughout the week BWF is promoting the re-launch of Tweet to ReMIND, an online social media campaign creating a dialog empowering people to remember veterans in their communities, talk about the issues, and micro-blog about heroes they know - prompting the social networking community to take action and raise money in support of injured service members, veterans and their families. The week will culminate on November 11, Veterans Day, with a Wall Street Charity Day that GFI Group Inc. (GFI) is hosting to benefit BWF. The day will include service members and their families on the GFI trading floor concluding with GFI and BWF ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Commissions from all GFI trades will be donated to BWF. For more information visit www.TweettoReMIND.org.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation provides resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically. Through a public education movement called ReMIND.org, the Bob Woodruff Foundation helps educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war - especially the 1 in 5 service members who have sustained hidden injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury and Combat Stress, including Post Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety - and empowers communities nationwide to take action. Across the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation collaborates with other organizations and experts to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life and invests in programs that connect our troops to the help they need - from individual needs like physical accommodations, medical care and counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide. In 2008, the Bob Woodruff Foundation invested $3.4 million in community programs, reaching more than 500,000 service members, support personnel, veterans and their families nationwide.
ReMIND.org is a public awareness movement of the Bob Woodruff Foundation that educates the public about the needs of service members transitioning from combat to civilian life; raises money to fund programs that help service members and their families successfully reintegrate into society; and empower communities nationwide to take action to heal the visible and hidden wounds of war.
Tweet to ReMIND is a social media campaign and fundraising initiative that supports injured U.S. service men and women and their families, created by the Bob Woodruff Foundation's ReMIND.org. Tweet to ReMIND aims to insight a movement to create awareness and action to ensure these wounded heroes return home to the assistance and local resources they need to successfully heal and rejoin their communities. Through the networking power of social media, Tweet to ReMIND is working to raise $1.9 million for ReMIND.org by Veterans Day.
For more information about the Bob Woodruff Foundation please visit www.ReMIND.org and www.TweettoReMIND.org.
Now in its sixth year, The New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway and United Entertainment Group in association with Comedy Central. The NY Comedy Festival is the largest festival of its kind in the United States. The festival has featured some of the country's top comedians, including Bill Maher, Tracy Morgan, Dane Cook, Sarah Silverman, Artie Lange, Katt Williams, Steven Wright, Denis Leary, and Joy Behar, to name a few. In 2007, the festival launched the Stand Up for Heroes event to benefit the Bob Woodruff Foundation. For more information on each event and to purchase tickets, please visit www.nycomedyfestival.com.
The sixth annual New York Comedy Festival (NYCF) will take place November 4th thru 8th in New York City featuring some of the biggest names in the industry. Ricky Gervais, Tracy Morgan, Bill Maher, Dane Cook, Andy Samberg, Artie Lange, Mario Cantone, Mike Epps, Bill Burr, Patton Oswalt, and Mike Birbiglia will be headlining this year at iconic venues throughout New York City including Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall, Carolines on Broadway, Paley Center for Media and Beacon Theatre.
The 2009 NYCF is presented in association with Comedy Central. The festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway and United Entertainment Group. Sponsors include Time Warner Cable Media Sales- NYC, Time Out New York, New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Myspace.com, Energizer and People's Choice Awards. Jameson is the official Irish whiskey, Travelocity is the official travel sponsor, and The Shoreham Hotel is the official hotel of the 2009 New York Comedy Festival.
