80 Stories, 80 Days: Seeing Our Children Shine

This wonderful story is a part of our 80 Stories, 80 Days campaign. For every story we collect through this campaign, Unique Connect will make a donation directly to our organization, so please submit your story now.

From the Mast Family:

Variety Child, Rachel Mast, on stage during the 2013 Variety Show.

We started our Variety journey in Memphis TN. It was such a positive experience that when we moved to Kansas City, we hoped to continue to be involved with Variety. My husband met Deborah at an event and then I met her. We were impressed with her and what they were trying to do. We have had the opportunity to do some events with the Royals and some really fun things. Rachel even got to meet and have her picture made with Billy Brewer! My best memory is around the Variety Acting Camp this past summer. My daughter Rachel has been in 14 stage productions. She loves the theatre. Deb and I had discussed inclusive theatre and Variety a number of times. This past summer Variety KC had their first camp. In conjunction with Stage Right Productions, they recruited typical peers and put on a short program at the end of the two day camp. This will probably seem like an odd memory, but here it is. Rachel has been on the stage a lot. She has Down syndrome and has good communication skills. Some of the students in the camp were in wheel chairs while others had serious medical conditions or other sensory issues. Many of their parents saw them on stage for the first time that afternoon. That’s my best memory of Variety. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to be a part of it and for what you do for kids and families! May God continue to bless.

Through our 80 Stories, 80 Days campaign, we are asking all of you who have been touched by our organization in any way to share your story and help us gain more support for Kansas City children with developmental disabilities.

Unique Connect will donate directly to us for every story we collect through this campaign, so please submit your story now.  

Looking for another way to support Variety? Get your tickets for our biggest fundraiser of the year – the 2014 Variety Show starring Sinbad.