The Rotary Club of Marlton will host their annual Comedy Night fundraiser at the Gibson House Community Center on Friday, Nov. 6. Doors for the BYOB event will open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 8. There will be light refreshments, music, raffles and all the laughs.
“Rotary is an international organization that’s community based, so what we do at a community level is help impact anyone in the world,” said club member Chuck Childers. “It’s one of the largest, strongest charitable organizations in the world, but it still works at a local level.”
It’s unique in that respect, Childers said, because most of the money that’s invested in Rotary goes right back to community members through grants or scholarships. Childers is a Mount Laurel resident, but he’s been a member of the Rotary Club of Marlton for 14 years. He was motivated to join because he wanted to be more involved in his community. His father was a long-time Rotarian in Mount Laurel as well, so he wanted to follow in his footsteps and practice the organization’s two official mottos – Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best.
“It’s the impact we can bring to people,” Childers said. “This year’s motto (the 2026-2027 Rotary International presidential message) is to (create lasting impact). It can be a very small gesture, but the way we see that impacting other people’s lives can be very rewarding.”
This year’s Comedy Night will feature six local comedians: Cody Wright, Neil Wood, Meg Goetz, John Keller, Joshua Ryan and Madinah Wilson-Anton. Wright is a Medford native and has been a featured performer at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, Punch Line Philly and Next In Line Comedy in Philadelphia. Wood is a regular at the Atlantic City Comedy Club, hosts the “Cult of Us” podcast and works as a producer at DropTent Media Network. Goetz’s standup has been described as silly and genuine. Her act includes things specific to her, like being a woman and a twin, but also touches on more common topics such as dating and family. She also hosts the spooky comedy podcast “Real Chills.”
Keller is an up-and-coming comedian from Collingswood. He is a member of High Note Humor in Haddonfield and performs all over the city and suburbs including the Helium Comedy Club and SoulJoel’s at SunnyBrook in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Ryan has performed in historic venues like Zanies Chicago Comedy Club and Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. He’s been described as charismatic, delightfully miserable and “available for Bar Mitzvahs.” Wilson-Anton is a Delaware elected official whose work lives at the intersection of humor, public service and social justice. As a young, Muslim Black woman with vitiligo, Wilson-Anton brings a powerful and deeply personal perspective to both the stage and the State House, using comedy and faith to explore identity, power and lived experience while connecting with diverse audiences nationwide.
This year, the Rotary Club will partner with the Medford Sunrise Rotary to pack meals for Meals of Hope, an organization whose mission is to inspire and empower communities to fight the hunger epidemic. All Comedy Night proceeds will benefit that initiative. For tickets, visit www.marltonrotary.org/Stories/marlton-rotary-comedy-night.
Later this year, the club will be hosting a dedication service for four peace poles that they had installed at Marlton elementary schools. Peace Poles carry the message of peace – “May Peace Prevail On Earth” – in the languages of the world. Peace Poles have been planted on every continent in over 200,000 communities by friends and supporters working in unison to uplift the consciousness of humankind. More details on the dedication service will be shared at a later date.
The Rotary Club of Marlton’s Comedy Night fundraiser on Nov. 6 will benefit Meals of Hope, an organization whose mission is to inspire and empower communities to fight the hunger epidemic.
The club meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month for interesting programs and projects that will make their community and world a better place.
