http://ourvoice.legion.org/onlineupdate/876/comedians-help-vets-walter-reed
Public advocate and comedian Steve Novick will host a comedy show in Seattle on April 19 to benefit Operation Ward 57, a fundraising project that helps severely wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “Laughter is the Best Medicine” will showcase Seattle-based comic talent, performing at the city’s Mainstage Comedy and Music Club. If you can’t make the show, tune into the live webcast at 8 p.m. PST on Saturday. Club owner Julie Mains says, Seattle’s best comedians are coming together for a night of hilarity and fundraising. We’re proud to do our part for America’s severely wounded vets by supporting this effort.”
Deborah Semer, who founded Operation Ward 57, says “The pain these young soldiers will endure for the rest of their lives is heartbreaking. But some of these patients have an unbelievable sense of humor. I just hope their Internet connections are working, so they can watch the show live and share a chuckle from their beds.” Semer learned about Ward 57 when her husband, a licensed practical nurse, started working at Walter Reed in January 2007.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington is the first stop for many of America’s returning wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. The hospital’s orthopedic Ward 57 treats some of the most severely injured servicemembers; many have lost one or more limbs.
Semer and others started Operation Ward 57 so that individuals and companies could show their support and raise funds for these courageous men and women who have given so much.
“The Ward 57 T-shirts are very popular,” Semer says, “and they help bring in money that is used buy supplies and equipment that help our soldiers to heal.” Many musicians, celebrities and other public figures have worn – or offered to wear in the future – Ward 57 shirts in support of these severely wounded warriors; Semer said the list includes President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recording artist Dave Matthews, actor/musician Chris Thomas King, and the up-and-coming band, Fall from Grace.
A partnership with Sew Much Comfort, founded in 2004, provides adapted Ward 57 shirts to the patients with upper limb amputations. Sew Much Comfort is the only national organization providing adaptive clothing to injured servicemembers at military hospitals in the United States, at Landstuhl, Germany, and at combat surgical hospitals overseas.
At the Seattle comedy event, the crowd will be encouraged to sign a 10-foot-long Ward 57 flag, which will be taken to various events for more signatures and words of support, before being given to the men and women at the ward.
A talent search is also under way to find active-duty or retired military stand-up comedians who would like to participate in future shows. If you think you’re funny (or if your friends think you are), call the Mainstage Club at (206) 550-2112 to audition live, over the phone or on video.
Remember, you don’t have to be in Seattle to watch the show; it will be webcast at www.synclive.com. To help Operation Ward 57, make a donation or purchase a T-shirt at www.operationward57.org or call (206) 829-9822.
Operation Ward 57 is run by the nonprofit Think Big Foundation, in partnership with Atmosphere Artist Management, LLC. This is a grass-roots volunteer effort. Each person who buys a T-shirt not only shows his or her support, but directly contributes to items for Ward 57 and its patients, family members and staff.
