Stand Up for Heroes (SUFH), New York’s highly anticipated night of hope, healing and laughter, returned on Veterans Day for its 18th 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 $29 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.
Jim Gaffigan, Norah Jones, Mark Normand, DJ Questlove, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart treated the crowd to an evening of comedy and musical performances. In addition to the incredible entertainment, Stand Up for Heroes also highlighted inspiring moments and the remarkable stories of resilience and service of the men and women who have served in our nation’s military. SUFH is a part of the New York Comedy Festival, which runs from November 7 – 17 and features some of the biggest names in comedy.
During the event, craigslist founder and philanthropist Craig Newmark took to the stage to announce a staggering $25 million donation from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s initiatives to support veterans and military families. 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 over $113 million to date to help all veterans and military families have successful futures. Over the past 17 years, comedians and performers including Stephen Colbert, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Jim Gaffigan, Whoopi Goldberg, The Lumineers, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Seth Meyers, Hasan Minhaj, Tracy Morgan, John Mulaney, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, The War and Treaty, 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, TikTok, Gridiron Capital, HSBC, Ann G. and James B. Ritchey Foundation, GIVE, Pendleton Whisky, Philip Morris International, Vehicles for Veterans, Citi, Aspida Insurance, Assured Guaranty, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Cantor Fitzgerald, Hudson Bay Capital, TriWest, Salesforce, UBS, EMD Serono, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Family Foundation, BlackRock, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Navy Federal Credit Union, CME Group, TD Securities, Tudor Investment Corporation, Segal Ventures, Academy Securities, AmeriVet Securities, Atlas SP, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Breakthru Beverage Group, Columbia University Fertility Center, DTCC, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Gordon Philanthropies, Inc., Holt Logistics, Macquarie, Mastercard, Napier Park Global, Skadden, Slate Asset Management, Societe Generale, Tadler Law LLC, and Webster Bank.
To support the Bob Woodruff Foundation and learn more about their mission, please visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org.
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 $113 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 $165 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 (NYCF) was created by Caroline Hirsch and Carolines. The NYCF has brought together the country’s top comedians including Judd Apatow, Bill Burr, Margaret Cho, Larry David, Kevin Hart, Jo Koy, Nick Kroll, Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, Tracy Morgan, and many others to venues throughout the five boroughs of New York City. In 2007, NYCF launched the “Stand Up for Heroes” event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured performances by Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, John Oliver, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jeff Ross, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, and many others. To date, Stand Up For Heroes events have raised over $85 million. For more information, visit https://nycomedyfestival.com and follow on social media Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #MakeNYLaugh.