The positive power of laughter was on display this afternoon at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) Hope & Cope Wellness Centre thanks to the combined efforts of Australian superstar Adam Hills and Comedy Gives Back, in association with Just for Laughs.
In town for the Just for Laughs Festival, Hills and a few of his comedy buddies including Ryan Wilner, Alonzo Bodden, and The Boy with Tape on His Face, performed free of charge for cancer patients who, through their participation in the special programs at the JGH Hope & Cope Wellness Centre, are learning not just to cope with the challenges of cancer, but also to live well in the face of illness.
Hills is no stranger to Hope & Cope, having performed at the JGH Hope & Cope Wellness Centre twice before. In 2011 after a chance encounter with a Hope & Cope staff member at the Just For Laughs Festival, Hills graciously offered to entertain patients and their families. In 2102, Hills summed up this meaningful experience by noting that “it was the most fun we’ve had the whole festival.”
This year’s show was produced by Comedy Gives Back (CGB), the social benefit company that leverages comedy and technology to raise funds and awareness for various charities and causes. CGB creates groundbreaking initiatives that help transform the world through the power of laughter. The content created and distributed drives awareness and donations to our charity partners. CGB delivers the best A-List comedy talent, social media engagement and monetizing the content, creating new revenue streams that some charities don’t have the bandwidth or manpower to exploit.
“We are grateful to Adam, to the other comics, to Jodi Lieberman of Comedy Gives Back and to Just for Laughs for giving our patients the rare and wonderful opportunity to forget about their cancer for a while and to experience the feel-good benefits of laughter,” says Hope & Cope Executive Director Suzanne O’Brien.
Comedy Gives Back co-founder, and former program director at Just For Laughs, Jodi Lieberman commented: “I am thrilled to bring our award-winning organization to Montreal for the first time. We created Comedy Gives Back to help the world heal through laughter and I have come full circle with this upcoming event. We are bringing amazing comics to Hope & Cope. Our goal is to help elevate the spirits of cancer patients and raise awareness for this wonderful organization in my hometown.”
July 30, 2014
