Enjoy an evening of comedy and jazz at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral and help raise funds for autism on Friday, September 17th as Ellen Karis and Jim Mendrinos, from The Greek Gods of Comedy, and percussive-oriented jazz trio Manhattan Vibes perform.

Manhattan Vibes was featured in JazzTimes Magazine’s “2002 Year in Review” issue as a “Top Ten” of the year pick. Their performances include many Greek and US venues including “Dimitria” festival in Thessaloniki, Greece, The “Prespia” festival in Florina, Greece, and “Lassania” festival in Kozani, Greece, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and Blue Note jazz club in NYC. Christos was featured on the cover of “The 100 Most Important Greeks of the Century” Collector’s Special Edition, the Greatest Greek magazine of all time. He was featured in the article “140 young Greeks that will lead in the new Millenium”.

The evening will include a gourmet food/beer/wine reception with 50/50 raffles and a silent auction at 7 p.m. and the comedy show/dinner at 8 p.m.

The evening will benefit:

The St. Nicholas Foundation (St. Nick’s), a charitable organization that provides support, programs, advocacy services, guidance, and financial assistance for Autism treatments to Greek American children. The foundation’s focus is to alleviate the financial burden of Autism treatments and promote the message of healing and recovery. St. Nick’s was founded by the family of Dimitri and Michael Donus, twins diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder at the age of two. Dimitri and Michael have made miraculous progress due to the combination of traditional and alternative Autism treatments. Unfortunately most of the effective and proven alternative treatments for Autism are expensive and are not covered by insurance. Therapies for children with any special need can range from $5,000 - $150,000 a year.

Melanie and Andrew, parents of Dimitri and Michael, are thankful to have been blessed with the opportunity to provide extensive Autism therapies for their children. Through the founding of St. Nick’s, fundraising, and other charitable donations, other Greek American children will be able to benefit from the same successful Autism treatment therapy programs. (www.stnickfoundation.org)

The evening will also benefit JAM For Life, which was named for an inspired by the tragic loss of two brothers: Mike Katsimatides who commited suicide in May of 1999 and John Katsimatides who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Foundation seeks to promote a diverse set of charitable endeavors, including music education, cancer research, aid for underprivileged youth, suicide prevention and the rights of crime victims by donating funds raised through a variety of community events to charities that embody the spirit, character and lives of John and Mike. The Foundation believes its donations will enable these charitable organizations to promote the well being of the community while perpetuating John and Mike’s legacy and honoring the lives of these two special individuals.

A portion of proceeds from the night will be donated to The St. Paul’s Pioneer’s program, the first special education Greek Orthodox special education program. After its first successful year in assisting disabled children to learn about their faith, the program was honored in Autism Spectrum Magazine. Proceeds will assist the program to continue and expand at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, in addition to implementing additional programs at other parishes.

St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral is located at 110 Cathedral Avenue, Hempstead.