Attend a family friendly ‘short-form improv’ event and help vulnerable kids

A counselor at a Christian camp for foster kids is using his comedy skills to help raise money for this summer’s Royal Family Kids Camp – Lockport.

Dave Ebert of Well Versed Comedy will host a comedy show at 7:30 p.m. May 28 at the ROXY in Lockport.

Ebert, a member of Thrive Church in Lockport, and his wife, Bobbie, will serve as counselors at this camp again this summer. The camp is especially designed for children in the foster care system.

“These kids are so amazing,” Ebert said in the release. “When kids realize that it’s okay to just be a kid, to laugh, to be silly, and to be loved unconditionally, you can see their whole life change in the course of a few days at camp.

“That’s why I want to do this fundraiser; to raise the needed money to make this year’s camp special, but also to let people know of the need for the camp and to, I hope, inspire involvement in the way of giving time or money to make the camp perfect for our kids.”

According to its website, Royal Family Kids is a volunteer-based organization with more than 260 chapters throughout the U.S. Each chapter is rooted in a local church.

The parent organization, as of 2020, is called For the Children. The Royal Family Kids program is just one program For the Children offers to help foster children and kids in need.

Sometimes foster kids who attended the camp come back to volunteer.

In a 2014 Herald-News story, Jane Kuzma of Missouri recalled how much two of her foster children enjoyed it when the family lived in Minooka, with two of them returning to a Joliet-based camp to serve the current campers as volunteers as their way of saying thank you.

One of them, Reanna Kuzma, who was 15 at the time, said she took an active role in her own church because of those early camp experiences.

In the event news release, Ebert said society has miss out on a lot of joy this past year and he hopes his show will offer a pleasant escape from stress.

The comedy will be ‘short-form improv,’ similar to the comedy seen on the show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” The show is appropriate for all ages.

Performers will make up the material on the spot and rely heavily on feedback and suggestions from the audience.

“We have members from my improv troupe Well Versed Comedy, a former member, two former members of another local troupe, and even our pastor, who is also an experienced improviser, is going to join us,” Ebert said in the release.”

Ebert himself spent eight years as a pro wrestler. He also trained at Second City, Westside Improv, and Gorilla Tango Theater and co-founded Dave Well Versed Comedy, a group of Christians that create clean, family friendly entertainment, in 2013.

He is currently taking classes to pursue ordination in ministry.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids 10 and up. Kids under 10 will be free. Attendees can buy water and soft drinks at the bar, with the sale of drinks supporting the mission of The ROXY and Trinity Services.

Buy tickets at rfklockportcomedy.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact Dave Ebert at dave@gifts4glory.com and visit rfkids.org and forthechildren.org.