Students and citizens seeking to support a charitable cause can do just that and enjoy an evening of comedy at tonight’s Laramie Laughs for a Cause fundraiser, hosted by women’s advocacy group, Soroptomist, of Laramie and featuring headline comedian Sam Adams.
The event is Soroptomist’s annual fundraiser and begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Gryphon Theatre with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction—tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door, packaging the value of the evening with a built-in donation.
At 8:00 p.m., an opening act by Denver comedian David Rodriguez will get the ball rolling for Adams, who is the winner of the 2009 Great American Comedy Festival—an annual competition in memory of the famed, late Johnny Carson.
“He’s really entertaining but he’s a pretty clean comedian, so if you’re not into the raunchy comedian stuff that’s not what we’re aiming for,” Chelsie Mathews, publicity chair for this year’s event, said.
“The name, ‘soroptimist,’ means ‘best for women,’ and that’s what the organization strives to achieve. Soroptimists are women at their best, working to help other women to be their best.” -Club Member Mary Bowen
After building a career as a sports journalist, Adams broke into the comedy scene with his 2009 win at the Norfolk, Nebraska festival, and continued to compete (and win) in other events against experienced comedians with histories of tours and late-night shows.
Adams also has some commercial acting experience and continues to broaden his comedy work by mixing humor and motivation with his “Laughter is Good Business” presentation and book titled “If You Don’t Believe Me: Lessons Learned from Listening to The Greats.”
Bringing prominent performers to Laramie is old business for the city’s branch of Soroptomist, a global organization that works to “improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment,” according to soroptomist.org.
“The name, ‘soroptimist,’ means ‘best for women,’ and that’s what the organization strives to achieve,” Mary Bowen, another club member, said. “Soroptimists are women at their best, working to help other women to be their best.”
Laramie’s group is 32 strong and hosts Laramie Laughs for a Cause each year to bring in funds for general purposes, and has made contributions to organizations and events such as the Crisis Center, Safehouse Services, Project Graduation, Ark Regional Services and Climb Wyoming.
“Generally, Soroptomist’s main goal is to support women and girls in need,” Mathews said. “The majority of the money that we raise from Laramie Laughs we give back to our local community.”
Soroptomist also runs its own programs for youth and offers “Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards” to head-of-household women in undergraduate or training programs. The club has had roots in Laramie since 1943.
