The Toronto Comedy Community is Extraordinary.

People from all walks of life and all sorts of different communities have rallied around Haiti within the last two weeks and fundraising efforts have exploded across the globe. The theatre communities across Canada have been exceptional in their dedication to organizing theatrical events to raise money for Haitian earthquake relief, and Toronto has certainly proven to be one of the leaders in this regard. The biggest event that I have come across has come from Toronto’s comedy community, which has put together an impressive eight days of shows in venues across the city, with 100% of the box office proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

This event began on Sunday evening, and I would encourage everyone who lives in Toronto who reads this blog to schedule at least one of the following shows into your plans for the upcoming week because not only are they sure to be spectacularly funny, but the comedy community deserves your patronage for being so generous and for organizing a massive event which is the ultimate in inspiring and sure to be an incredible success.

On January 12th, 2010 the human race took a huge leap and millions of people decided to be extraordinary. They decided that today was the day to save a life instead of buying an extra coffee. They decided that today was the day to think about the less fortunate instead of just celebrity gossip. They decided that today was the day to look outward into the world, to be unselfish, to become aware, and to reach out their hand and help a stranger. On January 12th, 2010 the people of the world were faced with a horrific, calamitous, crippling situation and were able to turn it into an opportunity for hope, for light and for love to shine through. We were able to strengthen our global community and mobilize in ways that are inspiring and invigorating. 2010 is a decade that began with humanity’s strength and a unifying force of empathy, charity and goodwill. In 2010 the world decided to be extraordinary and I hope that each morning, as many of us as possible will continue to make that choice and to live it every day. We live in a precarious time of economic hardship, political unrest, with global warming beginning to rear its ugly head. We still live in a time of stark injustice, rampant disease, poverty, wars and corruption that seems to blanket everything in our midst. In 2008 Barack Obama asserted, “Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity… Yes we can repair the world. Yes we can.” Millions of people worldwide are not donating their money, their time, their prayers, and their love because they feel like it doesn’t make a difference or because they are cynical or dejected. Millions of people are choosing to be extraordinary because they know that they can. They know that every single person, every single penny, every single prayer, every single minute makes this world a better place. It’s 2010, a decade of hope and a decade of love. The time to be extraordinary is now.