Natural disasters bring out the best in many people, and the current rash of fundraising events to help the people most impacted by Hurricane Sandy is certainly a tonic against life’s daily temptations to become a misanthrope. But how do you decide which to attend, when so many worthy efforts are going on at once?
If you’re an animal-lover, you may have given some thought to the problem of what happens to pets who are separated from their people when there’s flooding of Sandy’s magnitude. Even if those folks know where their pets are, how do they house them when they themselves are being shuttled from one temporary shelter to another, where animals may not be welcome?
Fortunately for these furry friends, there is a charity effort going on to help pets displaced by the flooding find proper care and places to stay. It’s the latest “Comedy for a Cause” project of the production and promotion entity Mayhem and Madness Comedy, co-founded in 2007 by native Kingstonian and WPDH-FM regular Rich Shultis. Mayhem and Madness now books comedy tours and shows at clubs throughout the US, but its original mission was to give successful comedians a way to give back by raising money for charitable causes.
The Comedy for a Cause show to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims and their pets comes to the Saugerties Performing Arts Factory this Friday evening, January 11. Nicky Sunshine will host, Josh Spear will be the headliner and Shultis himself will put in an appearance. The show starts at 9 p.m. You can purchase tickets online at www.mayhemandmadnesscomedy.com or at the door, but if the latter, please RSVP in advance by calling (845) 443-3461 or (845) 340-4500.
Here’s how the ticket pricing works: You can pay an admission fee of $15; or you can donate some pet supplies and get in for only $10. You don’t have to haul a big bag of dog chow into the club with you, though; donations can be dropped off in advance at the Cantine Veterans’ Memorial Complex in Saugerties, New Paltz True Value Hardware or either River Radiology, Prestige Toyota or the Super 8 motel in Kingston.
Join the family! 
