The Comedy Hall of Fame Foundation, a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization, registered with the NYS Charities Bureau, is the charitable arm of our institution. The foundation was established to fund and oversee our educational initiatives and charitable programs.

USING THE POWER OF COMEDY TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM. Our educational program, "Laugh It Out NYC" was established to teach critical communication skills by bringing improvisational comedy classes into the New York Public Schools. We introduced a 10 session improvisation skills class into one public high school and with the success of the first session, we expanded to three classes in three schools and now have an accredited full year class, an after school program and professional development workshops for teachers.

TEAMWORK, COOPERATION AND BUILDING EACH OTHER UP are among the immediate benefits from introducing improvisational skills. Teens typically tear each other down in order to elevate themselves. Improvisation requires students to listen before speaking and to build upon the prior speaker’s utterances. Speakers cannot be thinking about their response, they must listen and react, no blocking or judgment is permitted. The dialog must build on each person’s input. Students learn to take risks and to share; moreover, they bring their listening, observational and faster processing skills to their other classes and to their lives outside of school.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY. What for our grandparents was industry and our parents was commerce, the currency of tomorrow will undoubtedly be communication. In an era of Twitter and MySpace, Blackberries and Bluetooth, we are plugged into a sphere of constant communication that makes effective verbal skills imperative. It is our responsibility to equip today's students with the skills they will need to succeed in the world of tomorrow. This fall the program will be accredited as a regular part of the curriculum in several schools and we hope to roll out the program nationwide.