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Lecture Hall room 101 burst with laughter Monday night as members from the IUPUI community gathered to see local and big-time stand-up comedians entertain for a charitable cause.

IUPUI's Department of Communication Studies and the Student Activity Programming Board teamed up with the Salvation Army to host the show "Comics That Care" on Sept. 24. All proceeds benefited central Indiana's homeless children.

Mike Polites, a lecturer in Communication Studies, began the night with his own comedy routine. Next, Marques Bunn, stand-up comedian from Indy, took the microphone. Bunn has performed in clubs across the Midwest and was ranked first runner up at the Indianapolis Funny Person Competition Finals in 2000 and 2001.

Mel Fine then delighted the audience as the only female to grace the stage. Fine has been published in "She's So Funny," a Judy Brown bestselling book, which also features famous female comics like Ellen Degeneres, Whoopi Goldberg and Roseanne Barr.

Following Fine, Troy Davis shared his comedic flavor with the crowd. Born in Indianapolis, Davis has performed on the "Bob and Tom Show."

Finally headliner Mark Klein took to the stage. After more than 20 years in the comedy business, Klein, also known as "The Corp Jester," has headlined more than 100 shows in the U.S. and Caribbean and has appeared on Showtime specials and CBS's "48 Hours."

This year's "Comics That Care" was the second in an anticipated series of charitable shows. The first live comedy event took place in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana. Polites came up with the idea for presenting both shows.

"I wanted to help in some way," Polites said. "So, I thought we could do a comedy show to raise money to sent to the victims of the hurricane."

Despite good intentions, putting together this year's show was not easy.

"Booking the comics, preparing the marketing materials, writing the press release, and coordinating volunteers just scratch the surface of all the work we had to do," Polites said.

Polites went on to say that it was difficult to contact all the comedians because they were busy with paying gigs.

However, for many, the end product was a successful and satisfying one. This year the show raised more than $1,200.

"The Salvation Army truly does good work," Klein said. "They really work to make things better for people, not worse. It was something I couldn't turn down."

The Salvation Army is the world's largest non-profit charity organization, and its Indiana division provides numerous programs and services that help people combat drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, poverty, homelessness and unemployment. It also provides community programs that promote youth development, education and recreation.

IUPUI students also enjoyed contributing to a worthy cause, not to mention laughing and having a good time.

"Anything that helps homeless kids is a great cause," said Robyn Johnson, an IUPUI sophomore. "Plus, those guys were hilarious!"

Polites said he hopes to attract as many people as possible to come out to future shows.

"It's affordable, for a great cause, and you get to laugh," Polites said. "You don't get better than that. Thanks to everyone who attended, and look for more big names and fun for next year!"

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