MEDIA: Latest News & Collaborations

CircusOz09

It's Circus time !

Each year Variety the children's charity hosts a night at Circus Oz for children with special needs.
This year Variety, in association with The Shane Warne Foundation and St George Bank, hosted a total of 1350 children from schools affected by the February Bushfires.


Each attendee, both child and adult received a free ticket and a show bag full of goodies!


Children will attend from Schools from Bendigo,Kilmore,Upper Plenty, Wandong, Whittlesea, Panton Hill, Kinglake,Chum Creek,  Marysville, Alexandra, Strathewen,  Flowerdale & Traralgon.

A letter from Mark Portman, Principal of Kinglake West Primary, summed up the feeling of the night.

" I would like to express our deepest thanks for the chance to attend the circus oz performance on Friday night.  The performance of the Circus Oz toupe was incredible, I am still amazed at the strength and control that these performers have. I sat at the performance and, when I wasn't laughing myself, listened to the laughter and gasps from the families around me. To hear a 4 year old hysterically laughing at the girl in the chair was fantastic and may have been the tonic that so many of us needed.

 As you know not only are we recovering from the Feb 7 catastrophe but we are also enduring a never ending building project that is affecting us all as well.


Thank you once again for the fabulous support that the Variety Club are giving to the Kinglake West community; the bikes, the bus and now the circus have been integral elements of our recovery and I now have a true appreciation of the incredible work that you do.

Thank you

Mark Portman
Kinglake West PS

 
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  Paul Wheelton

  

Variety Family Honours

Vice Chairman Paul Wheelton and Celebrity Ambassador John-Michael Howson were both honoured with an Order of Australia last week.

Variety the children's charity would like to congratulate both members of the Variety family for this special recognition.

 
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Bushfire_bikes 

More Relief  for Young Bushfire Victims

 

Variety, the children’s charity, delivered over 110 bikes to schools in bushfire-affected areas of Victoria  in an attempt to bring some normality back into the lives of young bushfire victims.

A convoy of Variety volunteers delivered bikes to Broadford, Flowerdale, Kinglake West and Kinglake primary schools throughout the day.

The bike presentations are part of numerous activities Variety is coordinating to help provide equipment and services to schools and communities devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires.

 
 
   
Jack Stacey Returns from London
 Jack Stacey  

Guests at the 2008 Heart of Variety Ball may remember an exceptional young man by the name of Jack Stacey.  Jack, who is a musical savant – a gift among autistic children, recently returned from an intensive study trip to London to further his musical education.  Jack showed an exceptional talent on the piano from a very young age – being able to play complex pieces of music after only hearing them once.   Variety the children’s charity and other organisations were delighted to fund Jack‘s visit to London to work with a professor who specialises in working with musical savants.  Jack's trip to the UK was nothing short of a life changing experience for him.  The work that Jack did with Professor Adam Ockelford was so successful and has established solid foundations for him to continue to grow and develop as the talented little musician he is”, said Jack’s mother Julie. For the full story on Jack’s trip <<click here>>

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 VSK 
 
Liberty Swing for Very Special Kids

Variety assisted Very Special Kids with the official launch of the new Liberty Swing a recent addition to the playground at Very Special Kids House in Malvern, where children with life-threatening illnesses come for respite and end-of-life care.

An Australian invention, the Liberty Swing allows children in wheelchairs the opportunity to experience the freedom, joy and exhilaration of a swing.

The idea to install a Liberty Swing at the House first came about when Hospice nurse, Wendy Gemmell saw a child using the swing at a local park. She was so impressed with the swing that she approached Variety the Children's Charity who agreed to help.

"The child who was using it seemed to be having such a great time. This prompted me to call Variety to see if we could have one at Very Special Kids. It will be so good to be able to give these children an experience that they don't get very often. The House staff will be able to access this swing at a moments notice without having to organise an outing to go and experience something special," Wendy said.


Click here more about our Liberty Swing Program

 
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Chumcreek

 
Playground Blitz at Chum Creek and Kinglake

There were smiles all around this week when The Shane Warne Foundation board member Glenn Robbins joined Variety Celebrity Amabassador to launch the Chum Creek Playground and Sunshine Coach.

 The fire damaged school was subject to a "Playground Blitz" last Saturday when scores of Variety volunteers desceended on the school to build a brand new play area for the students. What a surprise they got when they returned to school from their Easter holidays!

Variety and the TSWF repeated the installation at Middle Kinglake with the assistance of some very enthusiastic school children, parents and staff.

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