Event Benefits ABMDR’s Life-Saving Mission
LOS ANGELES—A capacity audience of nearly 300 supporters attended the 19th annual “Laughter for Life,” the comedy night of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. One of the pan-Armenian organization’s most popular benefit events, “Laughter for Life” was held on December 3, at the landmark Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California.
Long a showcase for cutting-edge stand-up comedy, “Laughter for Life” featured a lineup of acclaimed comedians, including Maz Jobrani, Sam Tripoli, Amir K, Dustin Ybarra, Nicky Paris, Anthony Amorello, and Orny Adams. Sam Tripoli also organized and hosted the event, as he has done ever since co-founding “Laughter for Life” with Lara Yeretsian, Esq., in 2002.
In her welcome remarks, Yeretsian thanked the audience and the event’s sponsors for their support, and shared some stories about ABMDR’s latest activities. Yeretsian said, “We have a stem cell donor from Artsakh, a young woman, who, despite being impacted by the horrific events that have befallen the people of her homeland recently, said ‘yes’ to our request for donating her stem cells, for a chance to save the life of a patient in Germany. And right now, as we’re gathered here, the stem cells of another ABMDR donor are being harvested in Yerevan, to be used for a transplant that can save the life of a patient in Belarus.”
“Just today, we had one more pleasant surprise,” Yeretsian continued. “There was a festive event at the Western Diocese, in Burbank, where Alex, one of our young patients, and his family were collecting toys for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The event included a raffle drawing, and Alex’s family decided to donate all proceeds from the lottery to ABMDR. So Alex’s parents, who are the proprietors of Rama Drugs, not only donated nearly $8,000 to ABMDR, but are also among the sponsors of tonight’s ‘Laughter for Life.’”
Afterwards, ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan said, “I think ‘Laughter for Life’ continues to be a hit with audiences because it not only serves up outstanding comedic talent, but also celebrates a beautiful sense of community, with hundreds coming together to support our organization’s life-saving mission.”
Dr. Jordan added, “I would like to thank the great Sam Tripoli, the event’s organizer; our dedicated Comedy Night Committee, chaired by the phenomenal Lara Yeretsian; as well as our generous supporters, sponsors, and volunteers, for making it all possible!”
Major sponsors of “Laughter for Life” included the Comedy Store (the Shore family), The Naughty Show, Sasoun Bakery, Sarkis Pastry, California Gourmet Nuts, Naturewell Vegan Juice and Smoothies, and Zartonk Media. Sponsors also included Feral Cosmetics, MK Loan Consulting, Vatican Banquet Hall, Paulette Malekian (of Engel & Völkers), Yeretsian Law, Mammoth Associates, Daglian Law Group, the Law Offices of Meline Mkrtichian, Arminak Law, Mr. and Mrs. Aram and Marine Papazian, Tazah, the Honorable Zaven Sinanian (of Signature Resolution), Taltech Construction, Dilanchian Chiropractic, and Rama Drugs.
Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 33,500 donors in 44 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 41 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
