Help when it’s needed most
Every child deserves the chance to be the best they can be, to get the most out of life, regardless of their ability or background. For some families, having a child living with a disability can be a life-long challenge.
Imagine if your child needed round-the-clock care that you just couldn’t afford. Or an expensive piece of medical equipment to help them walk or talk.
Where would you turn for help?
For children who are sick, experiencing disadvantage or living with a disability, that place is Variety – the Children’s Charity. Each year, thousands of these children and their families turn to Variety for support when they need it most. And many more are waiting patiently for caring people like you to help them.
You can make the biggest difference of all.
Variety is where families find help when government assistance isn’t available. When they can’t afford specialist care and equipment for their child. When there’s nowhere else to turn.
Your donation today will help change kids’ lives in ways you may never have imagined.
Redfins Story
A We Join Community Grant means fun and fitness for the passionate group of 100 swimmers known as the Glen Innes Redfins. The Club based in regional NSW received a We Join Community Grant when the Variety 4WD Adventure passed through town in March 2023.
“These swimmers are an amazing bunch of humans who endure swimming in freezing conditions. Sometimes swimming in minus degrees weather – all to get a jump start on the season.”
Daisy's Story
Daisy and her school, the Anson Street School in the Central West NSW city of Orange, received a Variety Sunshine Coach. A unique, 22-seater vehicle which is fitted with wheelchair modifications to enable Daisy and her friends to spend time together enjoying a diverse array of school excursions, extra-curricular activities and local community events.
Good Surf Story
Every child should be able to enjoy the ocean and Good Surf is helping to make this a reality.
Good Surf is Australia’s first surf school for people living with a disability and a Variety We Join Community Grant of more than $10,000 enabled the organisation to purchase adaptive surfboards and a Surf N Turf Wheelchair.
Founder, James, described the equipment as a ‘game-changer.’
“The boards that we got from Variety, there’s only a handful in the country. They’re a world first in that they’re a stock, adaptive surfboard for people to surf prone on it, people with spinal injuries and wheelchair users,” he said. “They’re the first in our region and for regional towns to have access to such equipment, it is amazing. Having that beach wheelchair is a game changer. You can’t do what we do without it. People can’t access the beaches at all without it.”
Marwan's Story
When the NDIS declined Marwan’s application for a manual wheelchair, his Mum, Zeenathul, applied for a Variety We Move grant to cover the steep $17,000 cost.
“We have had to make a number of modifications to our home recently to make it safer and easier for Marwan to get around and we just couldn’t see a way to afford another large expense,” she said.
Marwan’s new manual wheelchair will make a world of difference to him, and to the family.
“The new wheelchair is easy to fold, its easily transportable and so adaptable for use in all kinds of different community settings.”
Heath's Story
“I needed a prosthetic arm but at that same time, my mum lost her job and as a single parent family, finances were tight,” said Heath.
“We didn’t have the surplus cash to be able to invest in an expensive prosthetic so that could have been the end of my Paralympic journey right there, had it not been for Variety.”
Heath’s mum applied for a Variety grant and they were both overjoyed when the application was successful.
Goldie's Story
9-year-old Goldie loves going to school, swimming in the pool and going on walks with her parents Kelly and Matt and her three big brothers. At just 10 months old, Goldie was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that leads to severe impairments, including her ability to speak, walk, eat, and even breathe easily. Goldie started speech therapy and physiotherapy straight away but was soon unable able to crawl with her hands, eat or chew.
Kelly first learned about Variety while waiting for approval for a wheelchair from the NDIS, and applied for a mobility grant. Little did Kelly know that this was the start of a years-long relationship between Goldie and Variety. Read on to find out more about Goldie and her new a Delta Recline All-Terrain buggy.
Emily's Story
“We bought her a synthetic wig to make her feel more comfortable but she lived in fear of it coming off so she had to give up dancing – which she loved – and she couldn’t hang upside down in gymnastics so she gave that up too,” Kelly, Emily’s Mum, said.
“I couldn’t believe how lucky we were when our Variety wig grant application was accepted. When Emily’s wig arrived, she didn’t take it off for three days! She showered in it, she jumped up and down on our bed in it and it was truly the most amazing thing to see her confidence soar once again.”
“Suddenly, she could go swimming at her friend’s houses, she was able to take part in sleepovers, she could go back to gymnastics – it was incredible!”
Amelia’s Story
Triple threat Amelia, 12, has been performing for as long as Mum, Emily, can remember.
With prohibitive costs that often deny Amelia the chance to pursue her dreams, Amelia was awarded a Variety Heart Scholarship in 2023 to support her in perusing singing, dancing and acting.
Charlotte's Story
Charlotte, 14, has come a long way from the 4-year-old who outshone her classmates in her preschool production of The Night Before Christmas.
In pursuit of her passion, Charlotte has worked incredibly hard to overcome the challenges presented by multiple diagnoses including Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, Anxiety, Dyscalculia and Motor Dyspraxia and was selected as a Variety Heart Scholarship recipient for 2023 to continue to enable her to chase her dreams.
Emma’s Story
Emma, 16, lives and breathes music! A gifted musician, she has been playing music since she was 9 years old, but it was when she picked up the violin as a 12-year-old that she really fell in love.
Imogen's Story
Imogen, 17, sung before she could talk. The Muswellbrook teenager received her first guitar at the age of three and never put it down.
After loosing her dad to pancreatic cancer, Imogen was granted a Variety Heart Scholarship that provided the financial support needed to cover the cost of lessons, booking live gigs and more!
Angel's Story
Angel biggest love is dancing, she often makes up her own choreography and dances for school events.
She has tried lots of different styles of dance – Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, lyrical, Acro and Classical Ballet and is always doing cartwheels and dance moves in front of the TV, waiting to show her Nan the latest choreography.
Jerry's Story
Jerry watched his mum navigate the family law court system and moved house 15 times as he experienced all the turbulent changes that come with a family separation.
Now incredibly wise beyond his 10 years, Jerry has found freedom, connection and safety amongst the salty waves of Ulladulla and on the home turf of the mighty Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs Junior Rugby League Club where he wears his red, blue and white jersey with pride.
Layla's Story
At 13 years old, Layla Sharp is an athletics and swimming superstar.
Born with a vision disability and peripheral blindness, Layla has never let her vision get in the way if pursuing her sporting dreams. She is incredibly driven and wants to wear green and gold to represent Australia at the next Commonwealth Games & Paralympic Games.
Zac's Story
A keen skier since he was just two years old, Zac joined Perisher Winter Sports Club at age 7. Now 16, the talented alpine skier from Berridale, NSW has had the opportunity to train and ski in some of the world’s most amazing locations including Montgenevre, Grindelwald, Heavenly and Winter Park.
Zac has always dreamed of competing in the Winter Olympics so when at 15, he was diagnosed with Charcot- Marie Tooth Disease, he had to think twice about whether that was still possible.
Fortunately for Zac, he had his supportive Mum Yvette standing proudly in his corner. “I said to him, your goals haven’t changed mate, it’s just your pathway that has.”
East Gippsland Specialist School Visit
The Variety NSW/ACT visit to East Gippsland Specialist School was a great success on Tuesday 5 March.
The cheque of almost $6,000 has been spent to purchase four new specialist tricycles and three different sized balance bikes.
The school currently has 91 students.
These new bikes will create more opportunity for groups of students to attend Bike Education sessions together with their friends.
Story by PE Teacher, Michael Mitchell
Mikey's Story
Mikey is a 10-year-old student at Fernhill School. The middle child in family of three boys, he loves music, water and bikes. Fascinated with the wheels and how they spin, Mikey was the first of many students who were excited when Fernhill School received a We Join Grant for the purchase of adaptive bikes.
Luke's Story
Give a young child a chalkboard and they will have a scribble or maybe practice their A, B, Cs. When Luke’s mum, Katherine, handed him a chalkboard at age 4, he drew music notes.
“I’ve always known he was creative musically. I’m a musician and I also teach music theory and from a young age he would use my notation software to try and write out film scores from memory,” she says.
Now a Year 9 student at Northmead Creative and Performing Arts High School, 15-year-old Luke has a broad range of musical passions and film interests.
Luke was diagnosed with severe developmental motor dyspraxia in 2010 but thanks to ongoing occupational therapy, exercise physiology and assistive technology, it comes as a surprise to most of his teachers and his friends that he lives with a disability.
ANNA'S STORY
You may not expect to see a skateboarding clarinettist, but Anna Chung has been defying expectations since she was seven. Now 18, Anna loves combining her talents for both interests, but it is her skills on the clarinet that have won her numerous awards and now see her living away from her Sydney home and studying Music Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
Sienna's Story
Hi, my name is Sienna, and this is a story about my friend alopecia.
She wasn’t always my friend though!!
My Mum first noticed a bald patch on the back of my head, so she made an appointment to see a Dermatologist to check it out. Being told at the age of 11 that I was most likely going to lose all my hair was not an easy thing for me to hear. So, I guess you could say alopecia and I got off to a rocky start.
Taya's Story
Meet Taya, a girl who was born with muscular dystrophy. When Taya’s wheelchair broke and she lost the independence she once knew, her support coordinator put her family in touch with Variety and they applied for a We Move Grant. Taya’s grant was approved for a motorised wheelchair worth $35K to assist with her day to day life.
Goo-Ujin's Story
A bright and cheeky five year old, Goo-Ujin’s family were committed to providing her with the independence and social inclusion she should have to embark on her schooling journey. However, financial constraints made it impossible to afford the specialised therapy and equipment she needed to thrive.
They successfully applied for two of Variety grant applications, a school readiness therapy valued at $2000 through the We Care Therapy Grant, along with a brand-new Zippie Xcape manual wheelchair with power assist, valued at $18,0000, through the We Move Grant.
KYLA’S STORY
A kind and compassionate young girl, 12-year-old Kyla donated her beautiful long locks to our Hair with Heart program in November 2019. In December, she was elected school captain and when she began Year 6 in January 2020, she really hit the jackpot getting both her best friend in her class and her favourite teacher! It was the very next month that Kyla’s sister found a perfectly round bald patch on the top of Kyla’s head. What began smaller than the size of a 10c coin, quickly grew and Kyla was diagnosed with alopecia areata.
Oscar's Story
Dedicating his time to one sport wasn’t enough for Variety Heart Scholarship recipient Oscar, 18, who’s been making a name for himself as a swimmer, footballer, and a cricketer.
The last year has been a whirlwind for Oscar. “My Variety Heart Scholarship has given me the ability to fearlessly commit to my goals.” said Oscar “They have supported so much of my travel and given me independence to make decisions in regards to my training that I otherwise would not have.”
Piper's Story
Variety Heart Scholarship recipient Piper, 17, may be young but she knows exactly what she wants to do for the rest of her days – make people happy with her music. The self-taught singer, guitarist and songwriter from Lake Macquarie, NSW, says music has always been a huge part of her life.
“My mum sings all around the house and I learnt to sing from her. We call Dad ‘Happy Feet’ because he can’t sing but he can dance. Dad also taught me my first chords on the guitar,” she said.
“Since the start of my professional music journey, Variety has always given me not only financial support but also the confidence to believe in myself. The scholarships have helped me to cover the cost of travel for non-local gigs, an amplifier and a new guitar.”