Kids Entertainment Professionals for Young Refugees (KEPYR), the award-winning children’s media charity organization, has partnered with powerhouse comedy prodco All Things Comedy to produce its annual holiday fundraiser, “Laugh It Forward”. The all-star comedy event, being held at L.A.’s legendary Comedy Store at 7 p.m. on November 13, will be headlined by Bill Burr and hosted by Caroline Rhea.
This year, the orgs are raising money for UNICEF’s Horn of Africa relief.
“The Horn of Africa was already home to the worst child displacement crisis on the continent. Now the most severe drought there in 40 years and resulting famine conditions are exacerbating the situation dramatically,” notes KEPYR founder Grant Moran. “Millions of children, some with families, some on their own, have been driven from home in search of food and water, threatening a humanitarian catastrophe. By donating funds to UNICEF, kids media can play a vital role in getting critical aid to these most vulnerable children.”
This year’s event will be accompanied by an exciting online auction with nearly 100 rare and one-of-a-kind items and experiences perfect for holiday gift-giving. These gifts were donated by major kids entertainment companies such as Mattel, Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop and individuals including The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Johnny Bravo creator Van Partible, filmmaker Kevin Smith and anime icon Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). The auction begins on November 4 and concludes at 11 p.m. Pacific time on November 13.
Laugh It Forward is the first collaboration between KEPYR and All Things Comedy, a partnership with roots in ATC co-founder Al Madrigal’s show-stopping performance in KEPYR’s first such event in 2019. “I immediately admired the work KEPYR was doing and wanted to find a way to get involved in a more sustained way,” recalls Madrigal. The return of live performance has given me and ATC that opportunity and we’re proud we can be a part of this very cool and necessary project.”
Tickets to Laugh It Forward and auction access available at kepyr.org.
Honored by the White House in 2021 with a President’s Volunteer Service Award for “dedicated service to children around the world,” KEPYR was founded by industry professionals in 2017 to spread awareness in the children’s media community about the global child refugee crisis, the worst since WWII, and to rally support for UNICEF’s heroic work serving displaced children everywhere. Its Board of Directors comprises Grant Moran, Yang Chang, Chara Campanella, Aurora Simcovich, Johnny Hartmann, Scott Gray and Monica Dollive. Serving on KEPYR’s Advisory Board are Christopher Keenan, Jean Thoren, Greg Payne, Jo Kavanagh-Payne, Maca Rotter, Danielle Gillis, Ryan Gagerman, Martin Baynton, Gushi Sethi, Sabrina Propper, Dave Palmer and Sebastian Rich.
