NEW YORK, NY (SMI-GLOBAL-PHILANTHROPY NOV 06-10, 2023)-The Bob Woodruff  Foundation in conjunction with the New York Comedy Festival celebrated its 2023-17th annual "Stand Up for Heroes" benefit gala with 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted John Cougar Mellencamp as a main performer, and a line-up of star actors & comedians on Monday's evening at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center in NYC.

In addition to John Cougar Mellencamp, the line-up of comedians, actors & singers that attended and performed were: Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, Tracy Morgan, John Stewart, Rita Wilson, Jimmy Carr, Bruce
Springsteen and others.

 

Notable attendees included:  Rita Wilson, Tracy Morgan, John Mellencamp, Josh Groban, Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, The War and Treaty, Bob Woodruff, Lee Woodruff, Bob Woodruff Foundation CEO Anne Marie Dougherty, Craig Newmark, Caroline Hirsch, Andrew Fox and more.

ABOUT STAND UP FOR HEROES

Stand Up for Heroes launched in 2007 as the brainchild of Bob and Lee Woodruff and New York Comedy Festival founders Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox and is one of New York’s most anticipated nights of hope, healing and laughter, honoring our nation’s injured veterans and their families. Since its inception in 2007, SUFH has raised $70 million to create long-lasting, positive outcomes for our nation’s injured veterans, service members and their families. Stand Up for Heroes continues to expand and grow due to its remarkable success. Beginning at Town Hall, the event moved to the Beacon Theater in 2010, and to the Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2013 before going virtual in 2020. Over the past 16 years, comedians and performers including Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, Hasan Minhaj, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Ray Romano and Robin Williams have taken the stage to advocate for our extraordinary service members. Stand Up for Heroes is presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF).

 

ABOUT THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION

The Bob Woodruff Foundation was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was wounded by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised awareness about the tough challenges veterans and military families are facing and invested in solutions to help support them in the next chapter of their lives. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $157 million to ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members and their families — those who stood for us — have stable and successful futures. Visit the Bob Woodruff Foundation for more information.

 

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL

Launched in 2004, the New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines and created by Caroline Hirsch. Each year, the NYCF brings together the best comedy talent from across the country and throughout the world — from top-tier headliners to new and emerging talent —  to perform in more than 150 shows across all five boroughs in such iconic venues as The Apollo, BAM,  the Beacon Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Town Hall, and The Venue at Hard Rock Hotel New York, just to name a few. This year the NYCF runs from November 3 – 12, 2023 and will feature acts including Dave Attell, Bill Burr, Nicole Byer, Jimmy Carr, Margaret Cho, Tim Dillon, Giggly Squad, Ilana Glazer, Brett Goldstein, Nate Jackson, Anthony Jeselnik, Matteo Lane, Sam Morril, Nick Mullen and Adam Friedland, Atsuko Okatsuka, Pod Meets World, Donnell Rawlings, Jeff Ross, Robyn Schall, Daniel Sloss, and Michelle Wolf.