http://ms.foundation.org/newsroom/press_releases/carolines2007

Greal Laughs, Greater Cause!

Ms. Foundation for Women’s 18th annual comedy hour at Carolines on Broadway


01 October 2007

Featuring Susie Essman of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

 

NEW YORK—Five of the country’s funniest female stand-up comics will join together on Monday, October 22 for the 18th Annual Comedy Hour at Carolines on Broadway. The event, which supports the Ms. Foundation for Women—the nation’s first and leading national women’s philanthropy—is co-hosted by women’s movement pioneer and author Gloria Steinem, comedy club owner Caroline Hirsch and Ms. Foundation President and CEO Sara K. Gould. The event is co-sponsored by Comedy Central, Anne Delaney, Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue. There will be limited, complimentary seating for members of the press.

 

“In today’s sobering political climate, laughter—a healing, regenerative force—is an essential ingredient in our work to promote women’s rights and social justice nationwide” said Ms. Gould. “We are thrilled to benefit from an evening of superb comedic entertainment at Carolines, which will help us raise money and awareness to elevate women’s voices and build our collective power. At a time when successes of civil rights, women’s and other social movements are continually undermined, the relevance and urgency of the Ms. Foundation’s work—and the need for humor and hope to spur us on—have never been greater.”

 

The comics performing at 18th Annual Comedy Hour are donating their time and talent. They are:

  • Susie Essman, star of the critically-acclaimed HBO comedy series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and host of a new reality show on Bravo, “Better Half,” will emcee the event. A veteran of the stand-up comedy world, she has appeared in her own half-hour HBO comedy special, hosted the American Comedy Awards and performed on Comedy Central's “The Friar's Roast of Jerry Stiller,” “Politically Incorrect” and “The Tonight Show.” Other television credits include “Law and Order,” “The King Of Queens” and “Baby Boom”; film credits include: “Keeping The Faith,” “The Siege,” “Volcano,” “Punchline” and “The Man.” Susie was the voice of Helen Higgins in Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” and performed off-Broadway in the play “The Vagina Monologues.”
  • Roz G – “Last Comic Standing” finalist Roz G has been featured at numerous comedy venues across the country, including Carolines on Broadway and The Laugh Factory in both New York and Los Angeles. She has also appeared on television on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend,” Jamie Foxx’s “Laffapalooza,” “UPN Showtime at the Apollo,” “BET Comic View” and HBO/Russell Simmons’ “Def Comedy Jam.”
  • Cory Kahaney – Cory Kahaney may be best known as a grand finalist on “Last Comic Standing” on NBC. She’s had half hour specials on Comedy Central and HBO; other TV credits include “Last Call with Carson Daly,” and multiple appearances on “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn,” Joy’s comedy corner on “The View” and “Politically Incorrect.” She was voted Best Comedian in New York City by Back Stage magazine and is the creator and star of the off-Broadway hit, “The J.A.P. Show.” Cory was also the former co-host, with Maureen Langan, of Greenstone Media’s “Radio Ritas” nationally-syndicated talk show.
  • Lynne Koplitz – Lynn Koplitz, former co-host of the Food Network’s “How to Boil Water” and NBC’s “Shop & Style,” co-starred on SONY’s syndicated talk show “Life and Style” with Jules Asner, Kimora Lee Simmons and Cynthia Garrett. She has a half hour special on Comedy Central currently in rotation and placed 13th in Comedy Central’s Stand-up Showdown last summer. Lynne is the first comedienne since Roseanne Barr and Brett Butler to have a sitcom development deal with Tom Werner (“Roseanne,” “Grace Under Fire” and “That 70s Show”).
  • Veronica Mosey – Veronica Mosey’s strong opinions and fiery performances have earned her appearances at the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, Live at Gotham on Comedy Central, “The Dr. Phil Show” and VH1. She is a regular at Caroline's Comedy Club, Gotham Comedy Club and the Comedy Cellar in New York City. She has been seen in national television commercials and her sarcastic wit has been published in Us Weekly Magazine’s Fashion Police.

The 18th Annual Comedy Hour at Carolines will take place from 5:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, October 22 and is generously underwritten by Caroline Hirsch of Carolines on Broadway. Other key supporters include Ms. Foundation Board of Directors Chair Katie Grover and Michael J. Campbell; JetBlue Airways; The Tomorrow Foundation; Morgan Lewis; Arlene and Alan Alda and Lifetime Networks.

 

Again, there are a limited number of complimentary seats available for press; if interested, please RSVP to Irene Schneeweis at 212.709.4418.

 

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About the Ms. Foundation for Women The Ms. Foundation for Women Inc., founded in 1973 with headquarters in New York City, is the first and the leading national women’s philanthropy. We lift women’s and girls’ voices and promote their power to create a more equitable society. The Ms. Foundation for Women provides approximately $4 million in grants and practical training to community-based and national activist women’s organizations throughout the U.S. each year. Our support makes these organizations stronger and more capable of driving social change and public policy advances in the areas of health and safety, economic security, and women’s and girls’ leadership.

   

Massachusetts Citizens for Children created the Enough Abuse Campaign to address child sexual abuse through a statewide education and training effort. Learn more and view video

   

CAAAV organizes across diverse, low-wage, and poor Asian communities in New York City, to expose and struggle against violence with the goal of building community capacity to exercise self-determination. Building coalitions enables CAAAV to contribute to a unified strategy for a broader, multi-racial and multi-issue movement for social change. Learn more and view video

   

Domestic Workers United is an organization of Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York, organizing for power, respect, fair labor standards and to help build a movement to end exploitation and oppression for all. Learn more and view video

   

SMART (Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS Research and Treatment) University welcomes all women living with or affected by HIV/AIDS who are interested in getting control of their lives; willing to listen and be heard; and interested in learning how to better their health in order to live longer and healthier lives. Learn more and view video

   

2009 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Naina Khanna, Director of Policy and Community Organizing at Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease (WORLD), supports, educates and mobilizes women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS encouraging them to advocate for policy change that meets their unique and, often, unmet needs. Learn more and view video

   

2009 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Gina Womack, Director and Co-Founder of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), is an impassioned community organizer dedicated to creating a better life for all of Louisiana's youth, especially those involved in or targeted by the juvenile justice system. Learn more and view video

   

2009 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Kirbie Platero, a member and organizer at Young Women United, is a 19-year old activist, mother and artist working to secure reproductive justice for girls and women. She recently helped lead a successful campaign in New Mexico that brought young women of color to advocate before state officials for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools. Learn more and view video

   

2008 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Yunuen Rodriguez is an advocate for media justice, violence prevention and culture change that respects women and girls. She successfully led negotiations with a Chicago radio station to drop a sexually exploitative ad campaign and testified before the Federal Communications Commission... Learn more and view video

   

2008 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Brenda Dardar Robichaux is the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and founder of the United Houma Nation Relief Fund. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated her tribe in Southeastern Louisiana, Robichaux mobilized to meet the immediate needs of the Houma Nation and established training in non-traditional jobs for women... Learn more and view video

   

2007 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Ashley Nicole Tomlinson. After participating in Odyssey Youth Center's legislative lobby day trip on comprehensive sexuality education, Tomlinson became inspired to change her life and her community... Learn more and view video

   

2007 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Ai-Jen Poo was Lead Organizer and Founder of Domestic Workers United where she worked to build the power of the New York domestic workforce... Learn more and view video

   

2007 Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awardee Vanessa Johnson is co-founder of the National Women and AIDS Collective (NWAC) a coalition of Ms. Foundation grantees representing groups run by and for HIV-positive women and aiming to change policy at the national level. Learn more and view video

   

Demetra Tennison is the peer advocacy coordinator for the Women Rising Project -- an organization devoted to addressing the needs of women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Hear about her rise to advocacy and her continued fight against stigma and fear. Learn more and view the slide show

 

   

Migrant Health Promotion works to make sure migrant farm workers throughout the US get access to health and health services, mobilizing migrant farm communities to fight for the services, resources, and rights they deserve. Learn more and view the slide show

   

StoryCorps -- the national storytelling organization -- joined the Atlanta 2010 Building Movements convening. Grantees shared stories of their work, lives and vision for a more just and safe world. Learn more and listen to the stories

   

2010 Marie C. Wilson Young Woman's Leadership Awardee, Jasmin Woodbury, was the youngest youth organizer to ever join Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE). In her time at DARE Jasmin elevated the voices of youth, spearheading a campaign to make the local school board and the superintendent pay attention to the root causes of high drop-out rates in public schools. Learn more and view the video

   

2010 Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision Awardee, Carol Burnett, is the founding executive director of the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative (MLICCI). Through her work at MLICCI Carol advocates for state policy reform and strengthens the capacity of child-care centers across Mississippi to deliver quality, affordable care. Learn more and view video

   

2010 Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision Awardee, Silvia Henriquez, is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Silvia envisions a world where "women and girls, Latinas, are able to make decisions about their health that are free from stigma, free from coercion, and that these decisions are respected and made with dignity.” Learn more and view video

   

Throughout our history, the Ms. Foundation for Women has been driven by the fundamental belief that the tough challenges we face as a nation cannot be solved without the full participation and leadership of women and girls in all aspects of society.
See how the Ms. Foundation and our grantees are helping to lead the way. Watch the Video

   

Hollaback! was started in 2005 to address the failure of public policy to combat street harassment. The organization harnesses the story-telling and sharing ability of new technologies in order to track, catalogue and report instances of street harassment. Ultimately, Hollaback! fights for a culture that does not allow street harassment to be the &"’price you pay’ for being a woman or for being gay." Learn more and view the video

   

The prevalence of sexual assault in our armed services is a national disgrace -- and Ms. Foundation grantee Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) is doing all it can to end to this epidemic. The following is the story of one Marine's story of sexual assault in the military, as told to us by her mother. Her abuse at the hands of her attacker -- and the military's response to it -- make it all too clear how important SWAN's work is. Learn more and view the video

   

In early 2011 the Ms. Foundation brought together two grantees, Sarita Gupta of our National Jobs with Justice and Attica Woodson Scott of Kentucky Jobs with Justice, for a conversation about KJwJ's recent victory in defeating harsh anti-immigrant legislation in the Bluegrass State -- and how legislating hate harms us all. Learn more and view the video

   

2011 Women of Vision awardee, Kathy Miller, is President of the Texas Freedom Network in Austin, TX. Under Kathy’s leadership, the Texas Freedom Network has made critical progress in the struggle to bring comprehensive sexual health education to one of the most conservative states in the nation. Read more and view the video.

   

As Coordinator of Kentucky Jobs with Justice in Louisville, KY, our 2011 Woman of Vision awardee, Attica Woodson Scott, demonstrates a fierce commitment to social justice and progressive change. With Attica at the helm, Kentucky Jobs with Justice has evolved into a broad-based coalition of community groups, faith-based organizations and labor unions united to promote, protect and improve the quality of life for all workers. Learn more and view the video.

   

2011 Marie C. Wilson Young Women's Leadership awardee, Priscilla Rorie, worked as the Youth Coordinator for Close to Home in Dorchester, MA. Through her work with CTH, Priscilla has inspired dozens of youth to speak out, share their stories, and break the vicious cycle of silence and shame that perpetuates domestic, sexual and community violence. Read more and view the video

Media Contacts


Christie Petrone
Senior Communications Manager, Public Relations
212-709-4422
cpetrone@ms.foundation.org
 



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Ms. Foundation for Women, 12 MetroTech Center, 26th Fl, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Telephone:(212) 742-2300|Fax: (212) 742-1653|Email: info@ms.foundation.org