Friday, April 28, 2006

Comedian Jimmy Tingle will be among performers at the Covenant House 25th Anniversary Celebration.

"I am happy to participate in something bigger than myself and to use the talent God gave me to help others," Tingle said.

The celebration is set for 6:50 p.m. Wednesday at West Virginia State University Capitol Center Theater, 123 Summers St. Performers will include Tingle and Charleston native Ann Magnuson, who has made a career as an actress, singer and writer.

Local musician Ron Sowell, who wrote a song entitled "Renewing the Covenant," will perform the original tune along with vocalist Julie Adams. Host for the evening is Mountain Stage's Larry Groce.

A dessert reception will follow next door at Summit Conference Center, 129 Summers St. Tickets for show and reception are $50. Proceeds will support Covenant House programs.

Also, commemorative items by local artisans will be sold, including stained glass pins from Martina's Stained Glass Studio. Frames by carpenter Harry Burch will be paired with Covenant House photos by Michael Switzer.

Covenant House was opened September 1981 in a 2,500-square-foot house on Quarrier Street by Barbara Ferraro and Pat Hussey, both former nuns. In 2001, a new 13,000-square-foot facility opened on Shrewsbury Street as a collaborative effort of 35 congregations of various faiths. Programs help more than 30,000 people a year in 32 counties.

At Covenant House, people may drop in for a safe place to shower, do laundry, make a telephone call, receive mail, obtain counseling, or get emergency assistance with rent, utilities, travel or medicine. For further assistance, they are referred to a clothing closet at St. Marks United Methodist or a food pantry at First Presbyterian Church.

An AIDS Residential and Resource Program offers housing and support services.

Over the years, Covenant House has been an incubator for other agencies that later began to stand on their own, such as the YWCA Sojourner's Shelter, West Virginia Health Right, Kanawha Hospice, and nonprofit housing programs.

In recognition of Covenant House's 25th anniversary, a fundraising campaign called "Renewing the Covenant" is in the works to raise $2.5 million for an endowment fund.

Ferraro, 62, and Hussey, 57, are leaving Covenant House at the end of the year so they can return to their native Massachusetts to be near family. They intend to interview for other jobs in that area.

Comedian Tingle, who was born and raised in Cambridge, Mass., is Ferraro's first cousin. He is proud of the work Ferraro and Hussey have done and is honored to part of the 25th anniversary celebration.

His career was launched in the early 1980s at a comedy club near his home. He is now one of the top social commentators and humorists in the country.

He was the American correspondent for David Frost's show for PBS and BBC, "The Strategic Humor Initiative." He recently completed two seasons with "60 Minutes II" on CBS as the humorist/commentator in the Andy Rooney spot.

He promises those who attend his Charleston show will have a good time as he presents a mix of political and every day life material. mix of political and every day life material.

"It will be fun," he said. "I guarantee I will make people laugh."

He writes his own material.

"I love the idea of making something up and getting a reaction," he said.

He once traveled more extensively but is now working closer to home, where he is starting a local theater. That enables him to spend more time with wife, Catherine, and their 9-year-old son, Seamus.

For show tickets call Covenant House at 344-8053 or WVSU Capitol Center at 342-6522.