Mighty Fine Yes Balloon

The classic 80’s hit 99 Red Balloons starts off with:

You and I in a little toy shop Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got Set them free at the break of dawn Till one by one they were gone

In the song, those 99 balloons cause a crazy reaction that changed the world. In launching our Yes Balloon Non Profit, we hope to bring changes of a positive nature to our community and beyond. Looking back on the past year, we are so grateful for all of the amazing achievements and wonderful moments that our 20th year in Richmond brought us. And we're excited about all of the possibilities that lie ahead in the years to come, with YOUR help! Here's a quick recap of our top five balloons we let go in 2017!

Yes Balloon Launched as a New 501(c)3 Non-Profit After over twenty years bringing laughter to Richmond, we created the nonprofit entity of Yes Balloon as the new parent company of all things CSz Richmond. Our mission is to enrich lives and foster lasting relationships within our community by creating and providing professional and positive improv education, training, and entertainment through collaboration, inspiration, gratitude, and fun. We're beyond excited to grow all of our programs and introduce new ones that touch more lives than ever before, and we'd greatly appreciate your donation to help us grow!

Hundreds of Kids Laughed and Learned With Us Between our year-round ComedySportz® Leagues for both Middle School and High School, classes for Elementary and Middle School ages, and summer camps for kids all the way through High School, we've regularly brought improv to kids across the region! CSz Richmond is where kids can boost their self-confidence, learn how to work and play with others as a team, create wonderful and unique moments through humor and a positive group environment, and laugh while learning.

We're planning to expand our youth programs to include a wider reach and more kids than ever before, and would love your help in making that happen! Our New Sensory Friendly Series Premiered to Rave Reviews! For the first time ever, we produced a ComedySportz® Sensory Friendly match, bringing the fun and excitement of the only sporting event of comedy to a whole new audience. Parents and families of those living with autism or other sensory challenges found an environment and a production that understood those needs and provided a fun environment that completely met their needs. We'll be producing many more of this series in 2018 and beyond, and hope to grow our reach further into the community with your help!

Improv with Blind and Visually Impaired Teens Brought Confidence & Fun We were thrilled to return to teach at the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired this past summer. Our multi-week program helped teens with vision challenges make huge strides in self-confidence and independence as we coordinated with their other programs to make improv a vital part of their learning. With the establishment of Yes Balloon, we have plans to implement programs like this, as well as our Improv for Dementia Caregivers program, in more areas and to help even more people.

Our Total Donation to Childhood Cancer Research Topped $100,000 Our annual event to help raise money for St. Baldrick's Foundation is always incredibly popular and brings sell-out crowds. This year was our 10th year as an event host, and our cumulative funds raised for childhood cancer research blew past the $100,000 mark! Our players and loyal fans alike shaved their heads in solidarity with kids going through treatment, and we brought much needed-laughter to all involved.

Scanning the Internet, it looks like a pack of 100 Red Balloons (you know one will burst) runs less than $10. Would you be willing to donate to help us grow and positively affect our community in the upcoming year?