Hee Haw Icon, Lulu Roman, Takes on Poverty in New Role

Hee Haw Star Inspiring Fans to Help Children Through Compassion International

Nashville, TN (October 11, 2011)  -- Hee Haw icon and Gospel music artist Lulu Roman is tackling the toughest role of her life.  She has teamed up with Compassion International to help in its effort to eradicate poverty.

Roman recently travelled to Guatemala to see first-hand, the work Compassion International does.  "I saw much happiness and laughter in the children and I also saw children who were quietly crying in their spirit. I know that cry," Roman says, drawing from her own painful childhood in an orphanage.  "I saw the sadness in those dark eyes and the longing of desire for someone to take the sadness of uncertainty away from those small faces."

Roman also sponsors a little Guatemalan girl through Compassion International.

Roman is best known for her long-running stint on the syndicated hit TV show, Hee Haw.  An original cast member, Roman appeared regularly on the show from 1969 to 1971.  She left the show for a few years but later returned, and remained a regular until the show ended in 1992.  During her tenure, Roman helped create some of the show's most memorable characters in skits like The Culhanes and Lulu's Truck Stop.  She recently reunited with her Hee Haw cast mates to tape an RFD TV special called Salute to the Kornfield, which will air in January 2012.  The Salute to the Kornfield taping will also be released as a special DVD collection through www.cfrvideos.com.

A gifted vocalist, Roman often sang on Hee Haw and later established herself as a force to be reckoned with on the Southern Gospel Music scene.  She has recorded several successful albums and is a member of the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Roman grew up in an orphanage and was often teased by other children because of her weight, brought on by a thyroid problem.  Roman has said her weight also prevented her from being adopted.  Now that painful past fuels her passion to help children through Compassion International.

"People relate to Lulu in ways they can't relate to anyone else," says Zane King, Artist Relations Regional Director for Compassion International.  "Lulu understands human hurt and suffering and everywhere she goes, people love her.  What a privilege to have her as part of our Compassion International family."

"Compassion International is changing lives every day, putting hope, joy and grace into many, many lives," Roman says.  "The children are getting love, food, school, hope, bible teaching, and above all, Compassion, in a world that is harsh and hard and in need of love."