SalusCare Announces "Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night"

FORT MYERS, Fla. - June 18, 2018 - PRLog -- Four local celebrities will headline the Fourth Annual "Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night" to benefit SalusCare, the area's most comprehensive provider of treatment for individuals with mental health and substance use issues.

The fun gets underway Saturday, Aug. 18, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Broadway Palm, 1380 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Each of the local celebrities will perform a five-minute stand-up routine for event attendees who will "vote" for the best comedic performance.  An award also will be presented to the celebrity comic who raises the most money for SalusCare.  The local celebrities who will exchange laughs for votes are:

●          Gina Birch, Radio-TV personality and wine aficionado

●          Dr. Michael Martin, Florida Gulf Coast University President

●          Eric Raddatz, Fort Myers Film Festival founder and Florida Weekly Presentation Editor

●          Amy Bennett Williams, News-Press staff writer

Nationally recognized yet-to-be-announced comedians will round out the evening, said Marc Collins, SalusCare Development Committee co-chair.

Tickets are $150 each, including heavy hors-d'oeuvres, drinks and the show.  Tickets are available at www.saluscarecomedynight.org

Mr. Greens Produce has signed on as the Title/Presenting sponsor of the event.  Mr. Greens Produce is a Miami-based produce distributor with an office and distribution center in Fort Myers that specializes in servicing restaurants, hotels, country clubs and other food service establishments.

Other major sponsors are B&I Contractors, Bill Smith Appliances and Park Royal Hospital (Headliner sponsors); Leading Edge Benefit Advisors (Grand Finale sponsor);  the Lee County Sheriff's Office and Millennium Physician Group (Monologue sponsors).

Media sponsors are Florida Weekly and The News-Press Media Group.

Other sponsorships are available from $500 to $7,500.

"'Laughter Is the Best Medicine' not only showcases our local celebrities, but gives everyone an opportunity to support a charity that provides mental health and substance use treatment for more than 16,000 people per year," said SalusCare Board Chair Marshall Bower.

Funds raised at the event will be used to provide outpatient psychiatry and therapy to children and adolescents in our area whose families can least afford it.   One in 10 children has serious mental health problems severe enough to impair how they function at home, in school, or in the community, according to the National Center for Children & Poverty at Columbia University.  Left untreated, mental illnesses can lead to more difficult to treat illnesses and to the development of co-occurring disorders.

For more information about sponsorships and "Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night," contact Vice President of Public Relations Todd Cordisco at (239) 791-1575 or at tcordisco@saluscareflorida.org

About SalusCare, Inc.

SalusCare, Inc., is the most comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment program in Southwest Florida, serving more than 16,000 people per year of all ages from seven locations in Lee County.   The non-profit organization offers crisis stabilization, outpatient and residential treatment and an Employee Assistance Program for about 50 area companies. The majority of programs are accredited by CARF, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

SalusCare services are not free.  A sliding fee scale is available for most services, based on family income.  In many cases, private insurance is accepted.  SalusCare is a United Way partner agency.