I’m do­ing PR for this fundraiser and am proud to be at­tached to such a great cause. Tickets will sell out fast, so get yours now at www​.hugh​sroom​.com.

PRESS RELEASE — December 15, 2009

Comics Kick Cancer to the Curb with The ‘C’ Word 

Martha Chaves, Sandra Shamas part of tal­ented line-up for com­edy fundraiser

Toronto, ON – The ‘C’ word. Some peo­ple cringe when they hear it. Others cover their ears. And there are those who are ab­solutely hor­ri­fied by the mere men­tion of it. Yes, we’re talk­ing about can­cer. But on January 19, 2010, a Toronto comic and her fe­male co­horts want to make the ‘C’ word stand for some­thing else: Courage. Creativity. And most of all: Comedy.

The ‘C’ Word, a ben­e­fit for Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto, is a night of stand-up com­edy fea­tur­ing sea­soned pros along­side up-and-coming comics from the StandUp For Your Sisters troupe. The ti­tle of the show was in­spired by the ex­pe­ri­ences of co­me­dian and or­ga­nizer Daniela Saioni dur­ing her bout with can­cer ear­lier this year.

“For my 40^th birth­day I got can­cer,” Saioni says. “I’m a comic, so my nat­ural in­stinct was to make jokes about it – but when I did, I got heck­led. Even friends and fam­ily were un­com­fort­able dis­cussing it.”

Last year’s in­au­gural event, StandUp For Your Sisters, was a sold-out suc­cess and raised more than $7,400 for Gilda’s Club. This year’s event has be­come more per­sonal for Saioni, who cred­its Gilda’s Club for help­ing with her suc­cess­ful recovery.

“It was hum­bling hav­ing to turn to the char­ity I fundraise for to get help,” Saioni says, “I’m so happy to be able to give back to Gilda’s Club by do­ing what I love – mak­ing peo­ple laugh.”

With The ‘C’ Word’s di­verse line-up of comics, there will be plenty of laughs, with top­ics rang­ing from sex to eth­nic­ity, re­la­tion­ships to ca­reers and much, much more. Since last year’s event, the Sisters have spent lots of time on lo­cal com­edy stages and their acts are bet­ter than ever.

“People from last year’s au­di­ence still stop us in the street to quote their fa­vorite jokes back to us,” Saioni says. “This year, we’ll give them even more to talk about. It’s a great night to come out and stand up for your sis­ters, moth­ers, daugh­ters and friends. And laugh in the face of cancer.”

When: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. (Dinner and silent auc­tion at 6pm) 

Where: Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Who: Hosted by Martha Chaves (Just for Laughs, Something About Martha). Featuring Jo-Anna Downey (CTV’s Women of the Night, YukYuks), Special Guests Sandra Battaglini (Canadian Comedy Award win­ner) and Sandra Shamas (My Boyfriend’s Back and There’s Gonna Be Laundry) and StandUp For Your Sisters

Tickets: $25 in ad­vance (avail­able at www​.hugh​sroom​.com), $30 at the door. Note: Tickets only cover the show.

All pro­ceeds from tick­ets sales and silent auc­tion will go di­rectly to Gilda’s Club.

For a list of comics, bios and pho­tos, visit www​.standup​fory​our​sis​ters​.com.

About Gilda’s Club

The mis­sion of Gilda’s Club is to pro­vide a meet­ing place where men, women, teens and chil­dren liv­ing with can­cer, as well as their fam­i­lies and friends, can join with oth­ers to build so­cial and emo­tional sup­port as a sup­ple­ment to their treat­ment of choice. Gilda’s Club is a non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tion where there is no cost to mem­bers. For more in­for­ma­tion about Gilda’s Club, please visit their web­site at www​.gildas​clubtoronto​.org

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For more in­for­ma­tion or to sched­ule an in­ter­view, con­tact Bonnie Dean at media@standupforyoursisters.com or 647−377−4317.