Laughter League

Our mission is to spark joy and healing, one playful interaction at a time. Utilizing our talents as a highly-trained and diverse company of performing artists, we create moments of levity and healing, empowering patients and emboldening hope. We bring empathy, authenticity and therapeutic humor to pediatric hospitals, care facilities, schools and more, using laughter as an agent of hope and healing for children, families and seniors through the art of clowning, variety arts and the transformational power of laughter.

We believe that laughter and play are essential to people’s well being. Our vision is to contribute to the integrative health movement in the United States, which is working to turn healthcare environments into places that see patients as whole people and not just their diagnoses. We imagine a future where every pediatric unit has creative arts programming, including healthcare clown programs, as part of a comprehensive care approach. We are committed to bringing our therapeutic humor to people living with dementia, helping them access joy and experience a feeling of agency that they have often lost as their memory declines and people around them struggle to connect. We look to build programs where empathy, authenticity and playfulness are priorities of programs for adults living with memory decline.

Laughter League was founded by Tiffany Riley and Dick Monday, ("Slappy and Monday") life partners and performing partners for the past twenty years. During this time they have headlined at circuses and festivals worldwide including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, The Big Apple Circus, The Lone Star Circus, Hanneford Circus, and Circo Atayde. They created the clown troupe, The New York Goofs, Slappy's Puppet Playhouse, and the Funnyatrics Clown Program. Today, they can be found doing it all as The Laughter League and reaching thousands in need along the way. Tiffany is the author of the acclaimed book, Beyond the Red Nose: The Serious Business of Healthcare Clowning, which provides the first deep inside look into this professional world of healthcare clowning with first-hand poignant stories, overcoming challenges, and future plans in pediatrics and beyond.

Our integrated therapeutic healthcare clowning program reaches over 100,000 children and their families annually in the pediatric setting. Hospitalization is a scary and traumatic event for children. The toll illness takes on a family is tangible while stress and anxiety go hand in hand. Laughter League is devoted to bringing the healing and transformative power of laughter to pediatric patients across the United States. Research shows that laughter is a crucial component of the treatment protocol. Laughter League's Therapeutic Clowning program works to reduce the stress of patients, staff, and family members; empower patients to be involved in their own healing; aid hospital staff in difficult procedures; improve relationships between patients, family members, and providers. Additionally, our clowns partner with summer camps for children facing chronic medical conditions, bringing their unique comedic skills to the camp setting.

In 2024, we launched a new division of Laughter League which is called The Joy Family. This program takes our years of experience performing for seniors and combines it with the therapeutic approach we use with pediatrics to create meaningful and fun visits with seniors, and especially those living with dementia. The Joy Family programs focus on empowering residents by using humor and engagement as a healing agent. We are specifically hoping to use the funds we raise at North Texas Giving Day to launch the Joy Family in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

Our Needs

Funding this year will support our Joy Family program for seniors living with dementia as well as expand our programming at Cook Children's Medical Center, Parkland Hospital and Camp John Marc in Meridian, TX.