Celebrities Slated for Oct. 17 Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine Fundraiser
A celebrity lineup is slated for an upcoming fundraiser by the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) to support disease research.
The Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine event will be livestreamed on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 5 pm PDT or 8 pm EDT. Tickets, starting at $100, can be purchased online.
This annual event, launched in 1987, raises funding to support the work of the foundation.
“For more than 30 years, the SRF has been uniquely focused on funding research while also raising awareness, so that no one suffering needs to explain what this disease is or does,” Joanne Gold, the foundation’s executive director, said in a press release.
This year’s event will be hosted by Bob Saget, an entertainer and SRF board member who lost his sister to scleroderma, and Susan Feniger, a fellow board member and “Top Chef Master.”
The first Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine virtual event was in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year, it will again return to a streaming format through YouTube. According to the SRF, this virtual format allows the event to reach new audiences, including patients with scleroderma and researchers working to develop new therapies.
Last year’s event raised more than $1.1 million for the foundation.
This year features a number of comedic and musical talents who are donating their time to the cause: Bill Burr, Ben Folds, Nikki Glaser, Whoopi Goldberg, Josh Groban, Regina Hall (an SRF board member), Ken Jeong, Jimmy Kimmel, Heidi Klum, Loni Love, Joel McHale, Howie Mandel, Ms. Pat, Jeff Ross, John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Jake Tapper, and others.
A preview of the online auction is available now, and certain restaurants throughout the U.S. are offering “Hot Cuisine” take-home meals. The foundation has also put together a Watch Party Toolkit, complete with event-themed Bingo, recipes, and a playlist.
The SRF has so far raised more than $37 million to fund and facilitate research at top universities.
“By raising awareness and increasing the educational resources available,” Gold said, “those living with scleroderma will better understand early warning signs and can receive quicker diagnosis and treatment, until one day, research ultimately leads to eradicating this disease.”
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