Raising funds and awareness, one laugh at a time

How did you get involved with St. Jude? 

I’m originally from Queens, New York. After graduating from college, I realized I always wanted to be a teacher and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Around the same time, I started doing comedy at night. One of the people I began doing comedy with was a researcher at St. Jude. One day, he suggested that, instead of collecting tips after our shows, we could donate the money to St. Jude. That’s how it all started — with small donations after each show — and it’s grown from there. 

How has your support for St. Jude evolved since then? 

We started out collecting small amounts of money, like $30 or $40 after each show, and over time, it’s grown significantly. If you check our donation portal, we’re almost at $20,000 now. What’s interesting is that even comedians I’ve never met have continued this tradition of donating after their shows. Recently, we organized a charity basketball game in Denver, where unathletic comedians play basketball and live commentate the game making fun of each other, which is just a fun and silly way to raise money for St. Jude. In 2024, we raised $1,000 just from that event.

 How does your work with the hospital personally impact you? 

For me, it represents two beautiful things. First, you never know how much of a difference you can make with small acts of generosity over time. On a subway stop, I read a quote from Ovid: "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." Second, I’ve been amazed by the generosity of the people in Memphis. We’ve raised more money for St. Jude than we ever could have raised for ourselves. It’s something that unites us, something we all believe in. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to support the St. Jude mission but isn’t sure where to begin? 

Whatever talent you have to give — use that. People want to see you shine, and they really want to see you shine for a good cause. Start there. Do something you love doing and do it for good. If you do that, you can't miss. Also, don't take yourself too seriously! Sometimes life is hard, sometimes it is easy, but you can always laugh. We all fall on our faces — the important thing is having perspective, being able to laugh about it, and getting back up. That’s something I’ve learned in comedy and life. 

What’s next for you in your journey with St. Jude? 

I’ll continue organizing the charity basketball game every year with the Basketball Social House in Centennial, Colorado, and our local sponsors. I want people to know not to underestimate how much even a little effort can accomplish — you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. I’m also open to people who have new ideas of how I can do comedy while supporting and raising awareness of the incredible work being done at St. Jude, where kids from all over the world and their families don’t receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.