19 Nov National Comedy Center Wins Two Gold Anthem Awards Honoring Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Engagement
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Jamestown, NY – November 18, 2025 – The National Comedy Center has been named a Gold Winner in the 5th Annual Anthem Awards for its One Laugh at a Time: A National Comedy Center Memory Café, a monthly program supporting individuals living with memory loss and their caregivers. The Comedy Center earned Gold honors in the Education, Art & Culture category for Corporate Social Responsibility and Local Community Engagement, placing the initiative among the top-tier social-impact programs recognized worldwide.
View the National Comedy Center winning entries here:
Gold Winner – Education, Art & Culture: Corporate Social Responsibility – Memory Café
Gold Winner – Art & Culture: Local Community Engagement – Memory Café
Past and recent Anthem Award Gold Winners include global organizations such as Google, AARP, UNICEF USA, Amazon Music, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Clinton Global Initiative, World Central Kitchen, PBS, MTV Entertainment Studios, and Sesame Workshop. The 5th Annual Anthem Awards received more than 2,000 submissions from 42 countries worldwide. Launched by The Webby Awards in 2021, the Anthem Awards is one of the world’s leading platforms celebrating social impact, cultural change, and community engagement.
The National Comedy Center – one of the most interactive museums in the country – introduced its Memory Café this past February, offering a monthly, supportive gathering for individuals living with dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other memory-related conditions, along with their caregivers, family members, and care partners. The program invites participants to explore immersive museum exhibits that celebrate comedy’s greatest legends and most memorable moments, creating meaningful opportunities for connection through shared experiences, familiar comedy, and the comfort of community.
“Born out of real stories of living with dementia, this program reminds us that laughter connects us when conversation has failed us. Comedy can be the tool providing crucial connection and respite, as important for caregivers as it is for their patients, and loved ones,” stated Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center Executive Director. “Being honored with two Gold Anthem Awards on a global stage affirms the importance of offering people a place where joy, laughter, connection, and relief are still possible.”
Participants and caregivers have expressed how meaningful the program has been from the very first gathering. Many share that the Memory Café has become a highlight of their month – an experience that feels uplifting, familiar, and emotionally grounding. Families describe moments of recognition sparked by beloved comedy, meaningful conversations that emerge in the museum’s interactive spaces, and the relief of being part of a community that truly understands the caregiving journey. Caregivers frequently note that the program feels restorative rather than clinical, offering both respite and genuine connection. This experience is supported by staff who have received specialized training to thoughtfully welcome and assist individuals living with memory loss and their care partners.
During each Memory Café, participants explore the museum’s interactive exhibits at their own pace, revisiting favorite moments from shows like I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Saturday Night Live, along with artists such
as Johnny Carson, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Betty White, Richard Pryor, Don Rickles, and The Smothers Brothers. These experiences spark conversation, evoke memories, and give caregivers a supportive space to exhale and recharge.
“These two Gold Anthem Awards validate that innovative cultural institutions can make a powerful impact in their communities,” said Rochelle Mole, Chief Operating Officer of the National Comedy Center. “The Memory Café has become a place where caregivers and families feel truly welcomed, supported, and understood – one gathering at a time.”
Winners of the Anthem Awards are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), whose judges include leaders from global organizations dedicated to social impact, arts, health, and community well-being.
The National Comedy Center – named the “Best New Museum” by USA Today and one of TIME magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places” – is nationally recognized for creating meaningful, personalized museum experiences. Group Tour Magazine named it one of America’s top cultural institutions for student groups, reflecting its success in serving diverse audiences. The Memory Café builds on this commitment by offering another thoughtfully designed experience for a community that benefits deeply from connection and engagement.
The Center’s Memory Café program is made possible by Exhale – an initiative funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.
The National Comedy Center will continue to host its free Memory Café on the first Monday of each month, with the next gathering taking place on Monday, December 1, 2025, offering complimentary museum admission, time for exploration, refreshments, and a relaxed program designed to bring comfort and connection to individuals living with memory loss and to their caregivers and families. Reservations are encouraged; space is limited. Families who are unable to attend on the first Monday of the month may also contact the Comedy Center to explore arrangements for visiting with their loved ones at other times. More information is available at ComedyCenter.org/MemoryCafe.
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About the National Comedy Center
The National Comedy Center is the United States’ cultural institution, museum and national archive dedicated to presenting the vital story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations. Opened in 2018 in Jamestown, New York, the museum complex offers an unprecedented, immersive visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology, interactivity, and personalization.
U.S. News & World Report selected the National Comedy Center as one of the “25 Top Family Weekend Getaways in the U.S.,” while Condé Nast Traveler called it “one of the best museums in the country,” and People magazine named it one of “100 Reasons to Love America.” The museum has been featured in The New York Times, on CBS Saturday Morning, CBS Sunday Morning and on NBC’s TODAY Show, which called it “the Smithsonian of Comedy.”
Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her hometown to become a destination for comedy, the non-profit National Comedy Center’s mission is to provide education on the comedic arts in the form of commentary and contextualization of its bodies of work across all eras and genres of the art form.
The National Comedy Center operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, which explores the lives, careers, and legacy of the “First Couple of Comedy” and the incredible impact they had on the world, as well as the pioneering role and remarkable influence that I Love Lucy and Desilu Studios had on the entertainment industry for generations to come.
The annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, produced and presented by the National Comedy Center, has showcased comedy’s greatest stars and rising comedians over 35 years, including Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah, Nate Bargatze, Lily Tomlin, John Mulaney, Bill Murray, Taylor Tomlinson, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Jeff Foxworthy, Nicole Byer, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho, Amy Schumer, Sebastian Maniscalco, W. Kamau Bell, David Spade, Jim Gaffigan, Paula Poundstone, Kevin Nealon, The Smothers Brothers, and more than 300 comedic artists.
The National Comedy Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural institution whose mission is funded by philanthropic support. Donations and grants support the museum and its work to present the vital story of comedy and preserve its heritage for future generations.
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