Don Gavin will host and headline the fourth annual Autism Speaks Comedy Night, to be held Oct. 20 at Montvale Plaza in Stoneham.
Proceeds from the show will benefit Autism Speaks and Nashoba Learning Group (NLG), a school in Bedford that provides state-of-the-art education and intervention services to children with autism and related developmental disabilities.
Autism Speaks is a national organization that provides funding for research projects that aim to uncover the cause, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.
In addition to Gavin, scheduled to perform at the benefit are: Patty Ross, Steve Sweeney, Dave Russo, Jim Colliton, Steve Donovan and others. The event will start with dinner at 6 p.m. followed by the comedy show. There will also be silent and live auctions.
Gavin, a Nahant resident who taught English and coached high school basketball for 12 years before making comedy his career, said he and his fellow comedians are always happy to get behind a good cause.
“If we can raise a few bucks and make some people laugh at the same time, that’s great,” he said. “When they find a cure for autism, that’s when we’ll have the real party.”
According to Autism Speaks, 1 in 110 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is 3-4 times more likely to affect boys than girls. Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others.
Tickets for the Autism Speaks Comedy Night are $50. To purchase tickets or for more information, e-mail Paul Halloran at pkhcomm@verizon.net or call him at 617-872-0384.
View Comments (2)
Autism Speaks and Johnson & Johnson have duped the public yet
again. Insurance rates will go sky high will Autism Speaks wastes donated money
on lobbing for ineffective drug treatments and ABA therapy. Communication devices
that help such as the Ipad are being denied to people who need them. Autistic
people are being abused and their basic freedom of speech is being denied. They
spend plenty of money in the name of Autistic people who can who cannot even complain
about it. Insurance companies should think smart and give these kids the real
help they need to refuse the bad drugs that are bankrupting Medicare, Medicaid
and the insurance industry.
Autism Speaks is an organization with extremely questionable spending practices and it's message offends many individuals with Autism and families effected by Autism. They line their own pockets by promoting that they spread "awareness" about autism. They get rich off of something that effects my family and me everyday. Many people try and do good by donating to them but don't realize that many Autistics take very serious issue with them and their spending practices. Please look into the organization more before you give. As an adult with Autism and a mom of two autistic children, I urge you to think twice, and then look into giving to the Autism Society for America instead. They do lots to help individuals and families like mine everyday.