The Pembina Counselling Centre (PCC) hosted their annual comedy night fundraiser last weekend starring Matt Falk.

This is the sixth comedy night the PCC has organized, however, they are normally three night shows. During this event last Saturday, $7,500 was raised through ticket sales, donations, and sponsors.

"Anywhere between six and $9,000 would be what we've raised typically, " said executive director Paul Penner.

Each year the counselling centre, based in Morden and Winkler, falls short on their operating expenses because they have a unique way of charging for their services. It's a sliding fee scale; what people can afford, that's what they pay.

"The cost for counselling is higher than what we generate from client-fee income," said Penner. "We have to make up the difference through fundraising."

However, fundraising isn't the only goal of the comedy night. Penner wants people in the area to know that the centre is an option when they're "stuck".

"We want people to enjoy and benefit from the event," he said. "We benefit if they get to hear about us. What we are is a resource to the community. If we're marked in their minds, that's what we want."

Matt Falk is a internationally recognized comedian from the Niverville area with a clean act that carried him to second place in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. Penner mentioned that if there was a laughter metre in the P. W. Enns Concert Hall during the show, it would have been peaking.