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Contact: Gail Donovan
Donovan Communications
718-399-2122

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROOKLYN PSYCHIATRIC CENTERS’ YOUNG PROFESSIONAL
GROUP HOLDS BENEFIT AT LAUGH LOUNGE

BROOKLYN, NY—March 26, 2007—The guests never stopped laughing during a recent Comedy Night benefit at the Laugh Lounge in Manhattan, which was organized by volunteers from Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ Young Executive Strategic Support (YESS) Team.

The YESS Team was created this year by a group of young professionals seeking to raise money to support art, dance, literacy, and summer and after-school programs for young people participating in Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ community-based mental health programs. The YESS Team’s March 22, 2007, fundraiser at the Laugh Lounge featuring four of New York City’s brightest young comicsóGrant Cooper, Lee Camp, Marc Theobald, and Bill Santiagoówas the first in a series of events the young volunteers are planning for this year.

“We are delighted that the YESS Team has made a commitment to support the development of programs for young people in our school-based programs and mental health clinics in Bushwick, Canarsie, Flatbush-Sheepshead Bay, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and downtown Brooklyn,” said Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO. “At Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, we take a holistic approach to mental health and believe art, recreational, and literacy programs are critical to the well-being of the children we treat and the children of the adults we treat.”

Last year, the Children’s Art Carnival presented several art workshops for children at the agency’s Bushwick Clinic, which resulted in polished pieces that were displayed at the Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ Centennial Gala in October 2006, and will be on display in the near future in the lobby of Massey Knakal Realty Services’ downtown Brooklyn office. Dr. Straker hopes to introduce similar art workshops at all the agency’s community clinics.

More information about how to get involved in the YESS team is available by contacting Empire Events Group at 212-625-1025. More information about Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ programs is available at www.bpcinc.org.

Founded in 1907, BPC offers borough-wide mental health services to Brooklyn’s most vulnerable residents through its clinics in Bushwick, Canarsie, Flatbush-Sheepshead Bay, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and downtown Brooklyn and the borough’s public schools. Its diverse staff of more than 100 professionals provides more than 60,000 visits annually to adults, seniors, children and their families. 

Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, and stand up comedian Grant Cooper at the agency’s benefit at the Laugh Lounge.

Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers YESS Team founding members Rose Kingston, center, and Elizabeth Andreozzi, right, with guest Eileen Naylor at the Comedy Night benefit at the Laugh Lounge.