The photo below is from my first Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs Event that I held at the Speed of Thought Playhouse. I had a fantastic time and have been back to the playhouse each Friday since to watch the Speed of Thought Players and to LIVE blog the shows. The Speed of Thought Players are an improv comedy group based in North Attleboro, MA. They have a playhouse/bar/lounge/cafe that is right down the street from my house. So while thinking of my next blogger event I had the perfect venue in mind. That would be the Speed of Thought Playhouse again, of course! I talked with Christian at the playhouse about doing Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs II and he was game for it.

However, I felt that this time the event shouldn’t just be about entertainment or bloggers or even brews. I felt a responsibility to do something more. I wanted to help out someone with a cause. There are just so many great causes out there. I thought, what would be a good fit for this venue?

I immediately remembered my friend Sue, she had wanted to go to the first Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs event but couldn’t make it. Sue is team leader for Walking 4 2nd Base, a team in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston. Last year I blogged about her walking in her first Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and last year all I could do was give her a small donation and blog about her cause. I want to take something that was already a good time, Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs, and turn it into something for others beyond the joy they get from the comedy. So the idea for a fund raiser for Walking 4 2nd Base came about.

What I will be doing is working with the Speed of Thought Playhouse to put on Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs II: Laughing it up while raising money for Walking 4 2nd Base! I created an event in Facebook called Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs II and also a Facebook Group. I encourage all of my readers to join up with the event and the Facebook group. There are ways of helping even if you cannot attend.

So what is the event all about?

On April 17, 2009 BenSpark.com in collaboration with Speed of Thought Playhouse present Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs II: Laughing it up while raising money for Walking for 2nd Base!

The first Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs was such fun we decided to do it again. However, this time the laughter is for a cause. During the night there will be raffles for some exciting prizes like Flip video cameras, XShot camera extenders and many other prizes.

As more donations for prizes come in I will update the list.

The night will begin with a meet and greet in the Speed of Thought Playhouse around 6:30pm. The cost of the event/show is $10pp. There is free wi-fi so feel free to bring a laptop or other wi-fi enabled device. There is also food available for purchase in the Comedy Cafe. During the meet and greet you will have a chance to enter BenSpark’s PhotoBooth for a chance at cool swag, and get a very special photo taken with BenSpark himself, the oh so unfamous blogger. We will also be taking donations on raffle tickets for some very cool prizes too.

Money raised from raffle tickets will go to the 2009: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer: Boston Team – Walking 4 2nd Base.

At 8:30 the Speed of Thought Players will perform their hilarious comedy improv show. Everyone is encouraged to stay for the show. Why, because the SOTPlayers Rock and raffle prizes will be given away throughout the show. Plus we want people tweeting all through the event. We encourage you to Tweet about the event during the event using the hashtags #bbbl2 and #icause. You can also bring cameras and video cameras with you to record the fun times so that you can blog about the event or add your photos to Facebook.

If you cannot make it in person please sign in to Stickam to watch the show live http://www.stickam.com/sotplive

You can also make online donations to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Team – Walking 4 2nd Base at http://tinyurl.com/walking-4-2nd-base

So come on down to the Speed of Thought Playhouse for a great time, some laughs, some brews and conversations with other people who would like to help a great cause.

Please help get the word out about the event. Tweet about the event using the hashtags #bbbl2 and #icause. I’d love to see us pack the house (and the chat room on stickam)

What if this charity or event isn’t your thing?

Maybe the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer isn’t your charity of choice, that is okay, you can still do something. Look around your neighborhoods and towns and I’m sure you can think of at least ten charities that need your help.

What do you think of bloggers helping to give back to causes? Do you think that if someone has a voice that others listen to or in this case read, then they have a responsibility to give back in some way?

16GB iPod Contest is over. The Winner was @anoo.

An Online Contest has been updated on this Event. 04/20/09

Dina Riccobono of Market Leverage has donated a 16GB iPod Touch to one lucky online winner. She wanted to help me out with the event after I helped her out with the Market Leverage Bowl-A-Thon. This will be a twitter contest. The intent is to drum up as much excitement as possible to get people to attend the online LIVE event via stickam. The official stickam site for the event will be www.stickam.com/sotplive.

So how can you get your hands on a 16GB iPod Touch?

Rules have changed a bit since the event has come and gone.

Here are the updated official rules. Must do #’s 1-3 to qualify. The rest are for bonus entries.

1. Follow, @benspark, @marketleverage, and @sotp2009 on twitter.

2. Tweet “RT: Read and comment on @benspark’s #BBBL2 recap at http://urlbrief.com/a3446f. You Could win an iPod Touch from @MarketLeverage #icause” Then Leave a comment with a link to your tweet on this post.

(To see how you link to a single tweet go to Linking to a Tweet.)

3. Leave a comment with:

• Who is your favorite comedian?
• What cause would you have chosen had you been given this money?
• What can you do to help that charity without using money?

@*** New Entry Options

• – For an additional 2 entries (per link) into the contest. Post these links https://benspark.com/being-responsible.html and https://benspark.com/blogs-brews-2-recap.html to your Facebook Page and join the BBBL2 Facebook Group.
• Entries per comment – I’ll even give you an entry per comment on this post. Two entries if a friend comments and tells me that you asked them to come here and comment about the event on your behalf.
• Submit this link to Social Bookmarking sites like Stumble, ETC… 1 Entry Per link, must leave comment letting me know about link.

25 BONUS Entries!
Donate at least $10.00 to my friend Sue’s team Walking 4 2nd Base for 25 extra chances to win. Just make the donation and in the “How would you like your name to appear” spot put your @twitter name or blog address so I can confirm the donation. Thank you.

What are you waiting for, spread the word. This contest is open until April 30th. Remember everything done on this post can also be done on the BBBL2 recap post.

You might recall that I had a post up about the event and then had to take it down. That was because of the former sponsor. Well, that sponsor totally pulled out and IZEA has stepped up to make sure that this event still happens. Way to go IZEA!!

So IZEA is now the official sponsor of Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs II: Laughter for a Cause. I couldn’t be happier.