Only Make Believe Joins Bloomberg Tradebook's 2nd Annual Charity Day Today

Only Make Believe (OMB), the New York City and Washington D.C. based non-profit organization that brings laughter and imagination to children suffering from chronic illnesses and disabilities, will be joining Bloomberg's agency broker, Bloomberg Tradebook, on its Second Annual Charity Day today, October 17th, 2013 in New York City.

Building on the success of its "Trick or Trade" Charity Day, this year's event will take place in both New York and London, bringing leading charities and their celebrity ambassadors to Bloomberg Tradebook's global trading floors to help raise money for various, worthy causes. This year, Only Make Believe is joining four other organizations in New York to "Trade it Forward." SupermodelPetra Nemcova will be the participant celebrity ambassador for Only Make Believe. Other celebrity ambassadors include Mariska Hargitay, Mark Messier, Chris Noth, CC Sabathia, and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

All trading commissions from October 17 will be donated to the participating charities. The event will support a diverse range of causes including human services, youth development, disaster relief and the arts. Net proceeds will be split between all charitable organizations. For more information on Bloomberg Tradebook's Charity Day, visit: http://www.bloombergtradebook.com/charity-day/.

Since 1999, Only Make Believe has brought interactive theater performed by professional actors to over 35,000 children and families in 52 hospitals in the NYC metro area and 3 hospitals in the D.C. area. With celebrity support from Jude Law, Mike Myers, Sir Ian McKellen, Julia Stiles, Rachel Weisz, Alan Cumming, Kathie Lee Gifford, Chistopher Meloni, Petra Nemcova, and more, Only Make Believe has brought joy and hope to the hearts of families and children facing hard times. With the recent opening of their Washington D.C. office, they have already brought the healing power of laugher to almost 300 children in Washington D.C. within one year and do not plan to stop now!

Dena Hammerstein founded the non-profit Only Make Believe in 1999 in memory of her late husband, Broadway producer and director James Hammerstein, son of Oscar Hammerstein part of the legendary musical writing and composing duo Rodgers and Hammerstein. The organization was created to bring live interactive theater free-of-charge to children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Only Make Believe provides theatrical performances conducted by teams of professional actors, once a week for six weeks, free-of-charge to hospitals and other medical institutions.

Only Make Believe's interactive live performances encourage children to participate and perform alongside actors, transporting them from a hospital to the enchanting world of make believe. Director of Child Life at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center explained, "It was truly wonderful to see the patients clapping, singing and dancing to the music when often times we just see them lying in bed." While Only Make Believe does wonders to help bring happiness to the lives of children suffering from chronic illness and disease, it also helps to bring joy back into the hearts of parents. One parent explained, "After each play, I feel like a new person who's ready to face life. This show helps me gain my sense of humor again." For children and their families, Only Make Believe strives to uphold the principle that freeing a child's imagination is a valuable part of the healing process. For more information, visit: www.OnlyMakeBelieve.org.

About Bloomberg Tradebook: Bloomberg Tradebook is Bloomberg's agency broker that partners with both the buy-side and sell-side to provide high-quality liquidity, market insight, and customized solutions based on innovative technologies. Founded in 1996, Bloomberg Tradebook, a FINRA Member, offers its customers trading solutions for equities, futures, options, and foreign exchange (FX) to actively manage complex trading strategies on more than 100 global exchanges. For more information, visit www.bloombergtradebook.com.