Iota Phi Theta will host a night of comedy to raise cancer awareness and donations for Relay for Life on Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. in Braden Auditorium.

“Laugh for Life” is a free event featuring comedians Tiffany Haddish, Michael Blaustein, and Maronzio Vance. 

“It’s a good cause to get people to come together and to laugh. The whole concept is with all the things you go through in life, you can still somehow laugh and have a good time,” Ray Sankey, fraternity president and senior parks and recreation major, said.  

Haddish, both a comedienne and actress, has appeared in films such as “Meet the Spartans” and “Racing for Time.” She has performed for U.S. troops on the USO Tour and has been featured on such shows as “Chelsea Lately,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and “Def Comedy Jam.”

Blaustein can be seen in the films “What Happens Next” and “New York Lately,” but is better known for appearing on MTV’s “Punk’d.”

Starring in a recast of “In Living Color,” Vance has been featured on stand-up shows for Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes.

“The performers are pretty well known, funny people. They’re young and they do a lot with comedy in diversity,” Sankey said.

Sankey and Iota Phi Theta have been planning this event for a year and “Laugh for Life” is not the fraternity’s only service event.

During the last week of April, the fraternity will be hosting their second annual “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” event.

“The ‘Laugh for Life’ event is one of our bigger events, but we do a lot of big community service events throughout the year,” Sankey explained.

Iota Phi Theta has felt the pain cancer can cause when a fraternity brother lost his battle. Sankey has also lost a family member to cancer and feels this event is a great way to connect everyone.

“Everyone is aware of cancer, but when you’re not directly affected by it, it doesn’t seem to touch us as much as someone who is affected by it,” Sankey added.

The doors to Braden Auditorium will open at 6 p.m.

For more information on the event, contact Sankey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .