The 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes Raises More than $14 Million to Support Veterans Through the Bob Woodruff Foundation
Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, The War and Treaty, Rita Wilson and More Took to the Stage to Honor Our Nation’s Veterans at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on November 6, 2023
First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Voiced Their Support in Video Addresses
NEW YORK (November 6, 2023) – This evening, Stand Up for Heroes (SUFH), New York’s highly anticipated night of hope, healing and laughter, returned for its 17th annual celebration to honor our nation’s veterans and their families at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The event raised awareness and over $14 million for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, whose mission is to ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members, and their families — those who stood for us — have stable and successful futures.
Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, The War and Treaty, and Rita Wilson treated the crowd to an evening of comedy and musical performances. In addition to the incredible entertainment, Stand Up for Heroes shined a light on the stories of the remarkable men and women who have stood for us as members of our nation’s military. The event also included video messages from First Lady Jill Biden and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. SUFH is a part of the New York Comedy Festival, which runs from November 3 – 12 and features some of the biggest names in comedy.
During the event, craigslist founder and philanthropist Craig Newmark took to the stage to announce an extraordinary $10 million donation from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s initiative to improve mental health. The donation is part of Craig Newmark Philanthropies’ previously announced monumental $100 million pledge to nonprofits that supports veterans and military families – $28 million of which has gone to support Bob Woodruff Foundation this year. Craig Newmark is a member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation Board of Directors.
In 2007, New York Comedy Festival founders Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox partnered with Bob and Lee Woodruff to create this special event as a tribute to impacted veterans and their loved ones. Since its inception, Stand Up for Heroes has raised $84 million to date to help all veterans and military families have successful futures. Over the past 16 years, comedians and performers including Stephen Colbert, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Jim Gaffigan, Whoopi Goldberg, The Lumineers, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, Hasan Minhaj, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Robin Williams have taken the stage to advocate for our extraordinary service members.
Stand Up for Heroes is sponsored by Bread Financial and presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival. In addition to Bread Financial, support for Stand Up for Heroes is brought to you by Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The State of Qatar, Gridiron Capital, H.C.S. Foundation, HSBC, UBS, Ann G. and James B. Ritchey Foundation, Citi, Pendleton Whiskey, Philip Morris International, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Vehicles for Veterans, Assured Guaranty, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Cantor Fitzgerald, Jones Lang Lasalle, NEAR, RBC Capital Markets, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Amazon Warriors, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Foundation, BlackRock, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Goldman Sachs, Henry Repeating Arms, Ryan Myrick, Salesforce, The Walt Disney Company, World Wide Technology, Academy Securities, AmeriVet Securities, Breakthru Beverage Group, Chegg Foundation, CME Group, Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Cross River, Drexel Hamilton, DTCC, EMD Serano, Holt Logistics, Macquarie, Mischler Financial, Napier Park Global, National Basketball Association, Skadden, Slate Asset Management, Tadler Law LLP, TD Cowen, Tudor Investment Corp, Webster Bank, and UFC.
The NYCF is produced by Carolines on Broadway and is made possible by its partners Bread Financial, Peacock, Hard Rock Hotel New York, Death Wish Coffee Co., Straight Talk Wireless, Dr. Squatch, ABC7, iHeartRadio, MTA Away, Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, New York City Tourism + Conventions, New York Magazine, New York Post, SiriusXM Radio, and Vulture. Among those performing at this year’s festival are Bill Burr, Margaret Cho, Ilana Glazer, Brett Goldstein, Jeff Ross, and Michelle Wolf.
To support the Bob Woodruff Foundation and learn more about their mission, visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org.
IMAGES AND VIDEO CLIPS | GETTY IMAGES FOR THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION
Images HERE | Credit: Getty Images for the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Photographer name in photo caption
Video Clips HERE | Getty Images for the Bob Woodruff Foundation
ABOUT STAND UP FOR HEROES
Stand Up for Heroes launched in 2007 as the brainchild of Bob and Lee Woodruff and New York Comedy Festival founders Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox and is one of New York’s most anticipated nights of hope, healing and laughter, honoring our nation’s injured veterans and their families. Since its inception in 2007, SUFH has raised $84 million to create long-lasting, positive outcomes for our nation’s injured veterans, service members and their families. Stand Up for Heroes continues to expand and grow due to its remarkable success. Beginning at Town Hall, the event moved to the Beacon Theater in 2010, and to the Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2013 before going virtual in 2020. Over the past 16 years, comedians and performers including Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, Hasan Minhaj, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Ray Romano and Robin Williams have taken the stage to advocate for our extraordinary service members. Stand Up for Heroes is presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF).
ABOUT THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION
The Bob Woodruff Foundation was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was wounded by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised awareness about the tough challenges veterans and military families are facing and invested in solutions to help support them in the next chapter of their lives. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $157 million to ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members and their families — those who stood for us — have stable and successful futures. Visit the Bob Woodruff Foundation for more information.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL
Launched in 2004, the New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines and created by Caroline Hirsch. Each year, the NYCF brings together the best comedy talent from across the country and throughout the world — from top-tier headliners to new and emerging talent — to perform in more than 150 shows across all five boroughs in such iconic venues as The Apollo, BAM, the Beacon Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Town Hall, and The Venue at Hard Rock Hotel New York, just to name a few. This year the NYCF runs from November 3 – 12, 2023 and will feature acts including Dave Attell, Bill Burr, Nicole Byer, Jimmy Carr, Margaret Cho, Tim Dillon, Giggly Squad, Ilana Glazer, Brett Goldstein, Nate Jackson, Anthony Jeselnik, Matteo Lane, Sam Morril, Nick Mullen and Adam Friedland, Atsuko Okatsuka, Pod Meets World, Donnell Rawlings, Jeff Ross, Robyn Schall, Daniel Sloss, and Michelle Wolf. For more information, visit nycomedyfestival.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #makeNYlaugh
Launched in 2004, The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF) is produced by Carolines on Broadway and created by Caroline Hirsch. NYCF brings together over 200 of the country’s top comedians including Judd Apatow, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Margaret Cho, Billy Crystal, Larry David, Ricky Gervais, John Leguizamo, Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Nick Offerman, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and many others to over 100 venues throughout the five boroughs of New York City and now Long Island.
In 2007, NYCF launched the “Stand Up for Heroes” event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured performances by Stephen Colbert, Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Conan O’Brien, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, and many others. To date, Stand Up For Heroes events have raised over $65 million. For more information, visit https://nycomedyfestival.com and follow on social media Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #MakeNYLaugh.
