Jimmy Pardo Talks About Pardcast-a-thon 2010 and Smile Train

November 26 at 6pm - November 27 at 6am (Pacific)

pardcastathon.com

Last year, Jimmy Pardo's podcast Never Not Funny raised over $21,000 for Smile Train during the Pardcast-a-thon and through subsequent donations and downloads of the 9-hour event.

At Pardcast-a-thon 2009. Photo by Liezl.

This year, the marathon podcast is longer, the seats are more comfortable, and the bathrooms are less scary. To accommodate more people at the live event, this year's Pardcast-a-thon will be held at The Acme Comedy Theatre. Just as last year, the entire event (upped to 12 hours) will be streamed live for free.

In addition to Pardo, producer Matt Belknap and NNF's "Third Chair" Pat Francis, Jimmy promises over 20 guests. Who? WHO??? He revealed a few names.

Andy Richter, Rob Corddry, Sarah Silverman, Dave Holmes, and Danielle Fishel (from The Dish) [UPDATE: Also, Jen Kirkman!] are all scheduled to appear.  Part of the excitement of the Pardcast-a-thon is that many of the guests are a surprise, so that's all you're getting.

Smile Train provides corrective surgery to children born with cleft lip and cleft palate. Clefts are a huge problem in developing countries, and Smile Train provides the surgeries for free. It costs as little as $250 to perform the short but life-changing surgery.

How did Pardo choose Smile Train? "I had seen the ad on the back of Parade Magazine, and I was so moved by it that I donated the money. I didn’t realize that so little money can do so much good. And so I donated to Smile Train, and I felt good doing it.

"That particular week, Pat Francis was on the podcast, and said: 'We should do a contest, and donate the money to this charity Smile Train.' And, I said, 'Oh my god, I just donated money to Smile Train!' So, then we kind of adopted it as the podcast charity of choice. I think they’re phenomenal, they’re one of the top-rated charities in the country, if not the world. So, I’m thrilled to donate our money to them.

"During the Pardcast-a-thon, people that are in the theatre will be able to donate, as well as the folks at home.

"I honestly don’t know how we can top last year. We raised $16,000 during the event, and then I think to date we’re at $21,000. I don’t know how we can top that. Obviously, the goal is to do so, but I don’t know how we can."

HOW TO DONATE

1. Donate online via the Pardcast-a-thon Smile Train page anytime.
2. Donate during the 12-hour Pardcast-a-thon 2010, streaming live online from November 26 at 6pm to November 27 at 6am (Pacific). 
3. Purchase Pardcast-a-thon 2009 for $9.99. All of the proceeds go to Smile Train.
4. Check to see if your employer has a corporate matching gifts program. If so, download Smile Train's white sheet for their 501(c)(3) information.

Also, for every "Like" I receive for my professional Facebook page until November 25, I'll donate $5 to Pardcast-a-thon's Smile Train fund (up to $500). UPDATE: Thanks to all the new joins on my professional page, I was able to donate the full $500 at Pardcast-a-thon!

PLUS...Rick DeMint just announced some AMAZING Portroids-related donor incentives on his blog!

WHY DONATE TO SMILE TRAIN DURING PARDCAST-A-THON 2010?

• Do you look forward to Never Not Funny every week? There's some precious analogy to be drawn between smiles and NNF and getting on the train. Don't make me write it.
• Do you hate Jimmy Pardo? He doesn't think that it's possible to top last year's total. Donate and PROVE HIM WRONG. It will be oddly satisfying.
• If they raise over $20,000 during Pardcast-a-thon 2010, Jimmy will perform the corrective surgeries for 5 lucky kids! If you donate at least $500, you can scrub in and assist during one of the "Jimmy's Kids" procedures.*
• Your money will dramatically improve a child's life forever.**

*Up to 100% of this may or may not be accurate.

**100% accurate

Start chilling your Monster Low-Carbonation Energy Drinks now. It's going to be a great night.

November 26 at 6pm - November 27 at 6am (Pacific)

pardcastathon.com

MORE ABOUT SMILE TRAIN'S WORK

Cleft palate affects a child’s ability to eat, drink and speak. In addition, children in developing nations born with cleft palate are often ostracized, both by other children and by their community. Many of these children cannot attend school, and cannot get jobs or marry when they grow up. A simple, 45-minute surgery changes their futures dramatically.

Clefts are a birth defect largely caused by poor prenatal nutrition and folic acid deficiency. “Babies are born with clefts everywhere in the world, including the U.S.," says a Smile Train spokesperson. "You seldom see clefts in the U.S. and Europe because they are repaired automatically soon after birth. Clefts are usually not repaired in developing countries because most of the families are too poor to afford surgery and the government will not provide free surgery."

SMILE TRAIN IN ACTION: SMILE PINKI

Smile Train supports local surgeons in developing countries to provide the cleft-correcting surgery. This enables them to utilize and improve upon infrastructures already in place, and therefore, donations are able to be translated directly into corrective surgeries. The Smile Train Board of Directors pays for most non-program expenses.

From the Smile Train website: "As a first time donor, 80% of your donation will go toward programs that directly benefit children with cleft and 20% will go toward overhead costs. 100% of any future donation will go directly to help children with cleft and 0% will go to overhead."

Read the stories, then DONATE through Pardcast-a-thon 2010.

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