During National Suicide Prevention Month, Ultimate Comedy Fighters is offering a fun way to contribute to the cause — an improv show. 

Proceeds from the show — which takes place at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15. — will benefit Robbie’s Hope, a Wheat Ridge-based foundation that aims to cut teen suicide rates in half by 2028. 

Robbie’s Hope was started after founders Kari and Jason Eckert lost their teenage son Robbie to suicide. The foundation does a wide variety of work to combat teen suicide, from having teen ambassadors work within their communities to creating resources such as the “Robbie’s Hope Adult Handbook” to educate parents about talking with their teens. 

For Gabe Creek — a board member of Ultimate Comedy Fighters — the partnership between Robbie’s Hope and Ultimate Comedy Fighters seemed like a natural one. 

“It felt like an organization that everybody can just rally around and say, ‘Yes, teen mental health is important,’” Creek said. 

Creek has been working with Ultimate Comedy Fighters for over 10 years, putting on performances to raise money for different organizations. Each show the group puts on benefits a different organization. Some of their recent shows have benefited Hope House, Walk With Me and Royal Family KIDS. 

During the show, performers are split into two teams that compete through a variety of improv games. For some games, the winning team is whoever can keep the scenes going for the longest, while for other games, the audience gets to pick a winner through applause. 

“It's pure silliness,” Creek said. “The entire thing is just fun. The energy level is like an 11 on a scale of one to 10.”

As the show draws closer, anticipation is building among members of both organizations who planned the performance. 

“I'm so excited,” said Kari Eckert. “This is good community building. This is Arvada. This is (not only) where our roots are, but giving people an opportunity to have fun and laughter and (be) together. Win-win.”

“Laughter is healing,” Creek added. “It breaks through barriers. You’re going to show up and just watch some people be silly and laugh at them. It really encourages people to come together. That's the whole reason why we do it.”