Hunger is not a laughing matter. But the laughter was resounding at a recent comedy event that raised more than $13,000 for hunger relief in Haiti.

Elan Panov, left, and Daniel Shehori organized the recent Canadian Feed the Children comedy fundraiser through the University of Western Ontario.

The Charity Comedy Night, held Jan. 31, was organized by the Canadian Feed the Children (CFTC) club at the University of Western Ontario.

CFTC club co-president Elan Panov, a third-year science student, co-produced the show with award-winning, Toronto-based comedy writers Daniel and Steven Shehori.

More than 200 Western students showed up at the London Music Hall for a night of stand-up comedy, headlined by Nathan Macintosh.

“The event was amazing,” Panov said. “We packed the place. The people who came out had a great time. The comedians were hilarious.”

Daniel Shehori described the audience as “enthusiastic.” He said many of the students knew each other, and that seemed to make them more receptive to the comedians.

He noted that comedian Josh Saltzman, a former Western student who grew up in Thornhill, Ont., drew on his Jewish roots to connect with the group. “I’m guessing, but I think 80 per cent of the audience was Jewish. Josh had a lot of fun with that.”

The CFTC comedy night was a family affair. In October, Panov approached the Shehori brothers, who are his cousins, to help with CFTC-Western’s annual fundraiser.

As well, his mother, Rochelle Schwartz, offered to raise funds to underwrite the cost of the show.

Panov said the Shehoris were the ideal partners.

“Daniel and Steven are comedy writers and producers. They promote comedians and comedy events. They were all for helping with the fundraiser.”

He said they were able to get two comedians from Toronto, Macintosh and Saltzman, “at great prices,” while the three London comics donated their services.

Panov said raising funds for disadvantaged people has been an important focus of his university experience.

“I started the Canadian Feed the Children club at Western to get involved in a charitable organization on campus,” he said. “I was drawn to Canadian Feed the Children because they help poor children all over the world. Once I started getting involved, it opened my eyes. So many children live in poverty.

“It made me realize how much I have… Fundraising for Canadian Feed the Children is my way to give back.”

After the devastating earthquake hit Haiti in January, CFTC requested that the Charity Comedy Night be in support of Haiti, Panov said. “You see the Haitians on TV. You hear their heart-wrenching stories. We were very willing to send the money to Haiti.”

Back in October Panov set a modest fundraising goal. “We thought $2,000 would be a nice sum. Now we’re over $13,000,” he said.

“My mom had sent out all these letters. Once the earthquake in Haiti happened and people got word that we were fundraising for Haiti, the donations started flowing. People were very generous. They opened up their hearts and wallets for Haiti.”

For more information about CFTC, contact Panov at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it