Newtown Education Foundation (NEF) President and Board Chair Allyson Story recently announced two upcoming programs for the group. One program will allow people to honor educators through donations to the foundation and the second is a fundraising Evening of Comedy slated for January 21 at Edmond Town Hall.newtowneducationfoundation.org

"We've got lots of good things going on," Ms Story said.

NEF promotes and supports innovative education programs for the benefit of students in the Newtown Public Schools system, according to the foundation.

, on Monday, November 28. It allows parents and students to honor a teacher by making a donation to the foundation in honor of the educator. By making a donation and sharing a student's name, teacher's name, and the school's name, NEF will post the recognition on a wall on its website, according to Ms Story.The Honor an Educator effort went live on the NEF website,

"For a minimum donation of $10, your honoree(s) will receive a certificate of appreciation and their name will be displayed in a special listing on the [NEF] website," a description reads online. "The [NEF] uses your donation to fund grants to achieve its mission to enhance the learning experience of our students by promoting innovation and creativity through collaboration with the Newtown Public Schools and the community."

While the Honor an Educator program will be ongoing, Ms Story explained a deadline of December 9 has been set to have educators honored in time for the holidays.

"It makes a great class gift also," said Ms Story, adding that classes can choose to honor a teacher together as a whole.

A Night Of Comedy

The scheduled adults only Evening of Comedy at Edmond Town Hall on January 21 will include three comedic performers. For those who buy tickets for a VIP Party, the evening will begin at 6 pm at the Dana-Holcombe House with a cocktail party. The VIP Party tickets will include premiere seating for the Evening of Comedy, and Newtown resident Kristopher Plummer (also known as "Chef Plum") will serve food and mingle at the VIP Party.

Doors for the Evening of Comedy at Edmond Town Hall will open at 8 pm, with the show expected to begin at 8:45 pm, according to Ms Story. She also said she expects the evening's performances to run until 10:30 pm.

Ms Story said the event will be "a night with friends to have fun and laugh and celebrate education in Newtown. It is a great way for the community to come together [to support] the grant process so that teachers can apply for grants to bring innovation and creativity to the classroom."

Performers for the evening will be RC Smith, Tony Liberati, and Hawley Elementary School Principal Chris Moretti, who will be drawing from his well of experience as a former stand-up comedian and former DJ.

Mr Moretti said on Wednesday, November 30, that he is happy to participate in the NEF event.

RC Smith, according to information provided by Ms Story, is known in the television and comedy industry as one of the best "tv warm-up" guys in the business. RC is currently the warm-up comic for ABC's The Chew, was a longstanding warm-up for The Rachel Ray Show and has also done warm-up for the show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, The Tony Danza Show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, The Caroline Rhea Show, and Ricki Lake. He regularly plays Atlantic City and Las Vegas, along with the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Tony Liberati has been entertaining crowds all over the country, according to information from NEF. He has been on ABC's America's Funniest People and his jokes have been published alongside fellow comedians like Chris Rock and Henny Youngman in The Idiot's Guide to Joke Telling by Alpha Publishing.

. Ms Story said wine, beer, soda, and water will be served at the event and are included in the price of the ticket.Tickets for the Evening of Comedy range from $45 to $65 and are available for purchase online at the foundation's website

newtowneducationfoundation.org

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