Demetrius Day!

Today was a GREAT day for Demetrius and his family...Variety Children's Charity was able to provide a ramp for the families van. Demetrius is a 15 year old young man that has permanent disabilities and is confined to a wheelchair. And at his age, he is too heavy for his family to lift in to the van every time they need to leave the house. This van ramp will allow Demetrius to feel independent and secure. We are so please to be able  to assist this sweet family.  http://www.varietykc.org/

And the winner is....

The announcement for the Oscar's nominee's will be held today! What a great way to get excited about Oscar Night America. There is no better place to watch  the Live Oscars than at the AMC Mainstreet 6 theater...Feel like you are in the front row in Hollywood.

Our event starts at 6:00pm on  Sunday, February 27th , 2011. Host Larry Moore will be there to recognize our Stars of Kansas City.

Buy your ticket now at http://www.varietykc.org/.

A "Royal" Weekend

Variety had a Royal weekend.

We started early Saturday morning with a booth at Royals FanFest! The Overland Park Convention Center was  transformed into a "Disney World type" experience for Kansas City Royals fans and players.

Variety's Children Charity of KC introduced our new Mascot....It was a huge hit and kid magnet. So many people wanted pictures with the Variety Heart  Mascot......One little girl hugged the heart and said..... "I love you heart". We met wonderful people and encouraged them to run or walk in the Royals 5K this September. The proceeds will benefit Royals Charities and Variety Children's Charity of KC.

Our booth drew in alot of fun loving kids...We had a bubble machine, baseball Home Run game and lots of prizes. We had some Variety kids attend  the event and we were able to get them up close to some of their favorite players.  That was fun to see. We also made friends with the Overland Park Police Captain and his crew...They wore Variety Gold Heart Pins to show their support of our mission!
Our Variety High School volunteers are amazing......Jon, Sommer, Julia, Maggie, Abby, Julia, Sarah and Jillian. We also had Young Variety volunteers participate...Gene and Karen and Variety Volunteer..Tina....(It does take a village!) I am so impressed that students have the drive to give back to the communities they live. It is character building experience.

I had the unbelievable pleasure to meet Dan and Penny Glass. (actually bumped into them) What an honor to be able to thank them in person for their support and belief in Variety's mission. I am in awe of their philanthropic heart that gives back to our community...especially to the kids in Kansas City that need assistance...Like our Variety kids. They use their lives to make a difference and change the lives of others.

What could be more rewarding than leaving a legacy of giving?

Making wishes come true...

Variety's Board had many requests for funding this month.

So glad we can help Demetrius get a wheelchair ramp for his van. He is a wonderful 15 year old boy that suffers with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. He is getting too big to lift, and now... Mom can push him in his wheelchair into the van so he can get around easier.

I have the honor of letting this family know their burden to fiance the ramp has been lifted.

We also granted little 8 year old Alyssa, the adaptive bike she needs. Alyssa's therapist thinks this will help her benefit by engaging her gross motor skills...And I hope she will to have some fun too! Alyssa has Rett Syndrome and has a very supportive and encouraging mother. I know she loves American Girl Dolls...Maybe I'll see about a basket for the bike so her doll can come with her.

The board also granted the wish of the last payment of a motorized wheelchair for sweet 10 year old Noah.
Noah relies on a power chair because of Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. These necessary wheelchairs are unbelievable expensive...Close to $30,000. It seems so unfair that something so mandatory has to be so expensive.  When I told Noah's mom of our approval of funds...she was so grateful  like all families that are offered help for children.

Look what Noah's mom wrote on Facebook.....The Young Variety Club of Kansas City! If you know anyone involved with this group, give them a great big hug from Noah. They have agreed to pay almost $4,000 towards Noah's new wheelchair. If you don't know anyone, check them out on FB and leave them a message letting them know how much this is appreciated, and what it means to Noah! He will be able to stand up by himself in this chair :) AMAZING!!!!!

All the hard work, endless hours and countless times sharing our mission with strangers...pays off on a day like today!

Matching Gift Companies...Help your gift grow!

Matching Gifts from Kansas City Companies
Below is a list of companies that offer a charitable Matching Gift Programs.
If your company is listed below, you can increase the value of your gift to Variety-The Children's Charity by obtaining a matching gift form from your Human Resources Department and mailing it to us at the address below with your donation.
If you have already made your gift, you can mail the matching gift form separately. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Every little bit helps Kansas City kids in need.


Variety -The Children's Charity of Greater Kansas City.P.O. Box 3446 Shawnee, KS 66203

3COM Corporation 3M Corporation AAA Auto Club Abbott Laboratories ADM Foundation ADP Adobe Systems, Inc. Aetna, Inc. Alco Standard Foundation Allied Signal Foundation AMC American Century Companies, Inc. American Express Company Ameristar Casinos Andrews McMeel Universal AON Corporation Apple Computers Arco Foundation ARMCO Foundation Assurant Employee Benefits AstraZeneca AT&T Corporation Atlantic Richfield Auto Club of MO Aventis Avon Products, Inc. Bank of America Corporation Banta Corporation Beatrice Companies BellSouth Corporation The Black & Decker Corporation Blockbuster, Inc. Blue Bell, Inc. The Boeing Company Bonneville Broadcast BP The Brinks Company The Brown Shoe Company, Inc. Bunge Corporation Burlington North America, Inc. Burns & McDonnell Butler Manufacturing Company CarMax Auto Superstore, Inc. Caterpillar, Inc. CBS CertainTeed Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporate Foundation Chevron Texaco Corporation Chicago Title Corporation Chubb Group of Insurance Companies CIGNA Corporation Cingular Wireless Circuit City Stores, Inc. Cisco Systems Citgo Petroleum Corporation Citigroup The Clorox Company CNA Coach, Inc. The Coca-Cola Company Colgate-Palmolive Company Commerce BancShares, Inc. Commercial Federal Corporation Computer Associates Continental Group Foundation Corning Incorporated Costco Wholesale Corporation Countrywide Financial Corporation Deluxe Check Printers Deluxe Corporation Deutsche Bank America Digital Foundation Dow Corning Corporation DST Systems Inc. eBay ECOLAB Eli Lilly and Company EMBARQ Emerson Electric Company Energizer Holdings, Inc. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. Equitable Life Assurance Esmark Foundation Exxon Corporation Federated Department Stores, Inc. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Foundation Ford Foundation

Franklin Quest Fuji Photo Film, U.S.A., Inc. Gannett Foundation Gap, Inc. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation GEICO Corporation General Electric Co. General Mills Corporation Georgia Pacific Corporation Gerber Products Company The Gillette Company GlaxoSmithKline GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation Goodrich Corporation Google, Inc. Grainger H&R Block, Inc. H.J. Heinz Company Hallmark Cards, Inc. Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. Hartford Insurance Company Hewlett-Packard Company Home Depot Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. Honeywell H.R. Williams Mill Supply Humana, Inc. IBM Corporation IFTC Illinois Tool Works Ivy Labs The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation John Hancock Financial Services Johnson & Johnson Johnson Controls, Inc. Jostens, Inc. Kansas City Life Insurance Co. Kansas City Power & Light Kansas City Southern Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation W. K. Kellogg Foundation Kemper Mutual Funds Kimberly-Clark Corporation Kmart Corporation Labconco Corporation Land O'Lakes, Inc. Lee Company Levi Strauss & Co. Lexmark International, Inc. Libbey, Inc. Thomas J. Lipton Foundation Liz Claiborne Loews Corporation Lucent Technologies Marine Midland Bank Mass Mutual Financial Group MasterCard International, Inc. Mattel, Inc. The May Department Stores Company Marsh Maytag Corporation Mazda North America, Inc. McDonald's Corporation The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mercantile Bankshares Corporation Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. Merck & Co., Inc. Meredith Corporation Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. Microsoft Corporation Milton Bradley Company Mitsubishi International Corporation MMI Companies Mobil Foundation Monsanto Company MONY Morton International Motorola Inc. Murphy Oil Corporation Mutual of America Life Insurance Company National Starch & Chemical NEC Laboratories American, Inc The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. New York Stock Exchange Foundation, Inc. The New York Times Company Newsweek, Inc.

NFL National Football League Nike, Inc. Nissan North America, Inc. Nokia Norfolk Southern Corporation Northwestern Mutual Life Foundation Novartis Corporation Olin Corporation Olympus America, Inc. ONEOK, Inc. Palm, Inc. Panera Bread Company Panhandle Eastern Corporation Pella Corporation PepsiAmericas PepsiCo, Inc. Pfizer, Inc. Pitney Bowes Inc. Polaroid Foundation PPG Industries PQ Corporation Procter & Gamble Progressive Corporation Prudential Financial Quaker Oats Foundation Qualcomm Inc. Quest Diagnostics, Incorporated QuikTrip R.H. Donnelley Corporation RadioShack Corporation Ralston Purina Company Random House, Inc. RBC Dain Rauscher The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. Reebok Roche Diagnostics Corporation Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. Root Laboratory Safeco Insurance Company Sallie Mae Santa Fe Pacific Foundation Sara Lee Foundation SBC Communications Inc. Sentry Insurance Foundation Sony USA Foundation Inc. Sprint Corporation St. Paul Travelers Companies Stanley Works Foundation Starbucks Corporation State Farm Companies State Street Bank and Trust Company Sun Microsystems, Inc. Susquehanna International Group, LLP T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Tandy Corporation Tension Envelope Corporation Tetley USA Inc. Texas Instruments, Inc. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Time Warner Inc. Tompkins Corporation TORO Toys R Us Transamerica Corporation Travelers Express Company, Inc./MoneyGram International Tyco International UBS Unilever United States, Inc. Union Pacific Corporation United Parcel Service of America, Inc. United States Cellular Corporation United Technologies Corporation U.S. Bancorp Foundation USF Vanguard Group, Inc. Verizon VF Corporation VML, Inc. Wachovia Bank Washington Mutual, Inc. The Washington Post Company Waters Corporation Westinghouse Electric Whirlpool Corporation The Williams Companies, Inc. WMX Technologies Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Wyeth Yahoo, Inc. Yum! Brands, Inc.

Oscar Night America -Tickets on sale now!

Today Is A Day Like No Other....

Do you ever have those days were everything you need...gets done?
Today was one of those days..Everyone I needed help from came through with flying colors...I am blessed!
Morning Check List:

• Board meeting in the morning and Shawnee Copy Center had everything ready by 7:00am. (check) 
• Mike Winne volunteered to create our Oscar Night America Invitations (check)
• Sent Invitation to the Academy for approval (check)
• Getting PSA tagged at the end for TV 9 and videos looped together for Beer for Bikes (check)
• Got Royals 5K flyer from Brocton Creative Group for FanFest this weekend-sent for approval (check)
• Wrote newsletter for January (check)
• Received press release for Young Variety anniversary (check)
• Started Krispy Kreme- Donate for Donuts campaign (check)
• Lining up volunteers for this Saturday Fan Fest (check)
• Sent Congratulations to Cathy Clay for her first day on the job at Alice 102 (check)
• Got help reducing a quote for an adaptive bike for a sweet child in need (check)
• Watched new Young Variety Video 4 times at http://www.beerforbikes.com/ (check)
• Got my new Blog on the Variety Web site (check ,check)

and all before noon....

Kansas City Royals Fan Fest

Variety will be at the Fan Fest on Saturday to talk about our mission of mobility, to play games with the kids and talk about the Royals 5K....Lot of volunteers to help us. Hope to see everyone at the FANFEST!

What a week....many small miracles!

Young Variety was just asked to be the benefactor of the Kansas City Auto Show preview Happy Hour Event...This is huge. Our charity will be able to host a party to preview this amazing one of a kind automobile experience.

The Auto Show has every car you could dream of on display to view and we get to host the preview....Then Variety will get to present an adaptive bike to a lucky child at the show on Saturday

Mark Moberly, The president of Young Variety was on TV 41 at noon to promote the Beer for Bikes Event...He ROCKED. After his segment aired tickets sold like hotcakes! The event is the second year and we hopefully will have a sell out crowd. Tickets on sale at www.beerforbikes.com.

Jillian Micheals

Saw the Beer for Bikes preview video. I am in awe at the talent that Young People have..The creative process of pulling time and talents together and watching the magic in the outcome in so inspiring.
 www./Beerforbikes.com.

Spoke to Jillian Micheals company about the video series for special need people. They are meeting with Kyle Maynard to  coordinate efforts.  Go to : kyle-maynard.com. Watch to see and be inspired by this amazing Young Man. Hopefully Variety  International will help with this worth while project...Everyone wants to move and feel good about themselves..Dream Big!

Young Variety new video....

We filmed the new "Beer for Bikes" video today with Brockton Creative Group (they truly are  the most CREATIVE people ever...) It was so much fun. One of the Young Variety volunteers said " Can we do this every SATURDAY?" ...and I agree. To use your time creatively with  people  that have giving hearts is such a wonderful experience and a great way to spend your day.

Can't wait to see how it turns out...

Ordered the New Variety Mascot costume...can hardly wait for it's arrival . I need a name for it let me know if you have any suggestions....http://www.beerforbikes.com/

Like a wheel

Life, like a wheel, goes around…and around…

A few years ago Variety was able to assist a young man named Zechariah. Zac is fully enjoying life, including his youth football team, which includes him (in his wheelchair) on the field for introductions during games. He’s an important part of the team and he loves it.

This year the team collected funds for a coach’s gift, but it was decided to gift Zac instead.  In “pay it forward” style, Zac’s family donated the money back to Variety as a thank you for the help received in the past.

Circle of life, circle of care and love.

Ironically, I recently was shopping at the plaza and saw a little boy in a wheelchair.  I introduced myself and gave the father my card, telling him that Variety is here if they would ever need help.

I found out later that it was Zac and his father!  Zac’s mother called to share the “small world” moment.  Is it a small world, or is it just proof positive that what goes around, comes around? 

Let’s keep the wheels turning for those in need,

Deborah 

Full circle...

Today:

• Amy Krouse Rosenthal accepted me as her friend on facebook!
• Think I found a Heart Shaped Variety mascot for all our events.
• Met with the Auto Show Dealers Association organizers about an awesome Happy Hour Red Carpet VIP Preview event. (Full circle: Last year our ONA event I met a nice hardworking man from Harvest Production, Greg Turcotte and remembered him and his little boy Mikea. He now works at the Convention Center and remembered me. He is going to put together an amazing light display for our DJ for the Happy hour. Put Eric DJ Coomb up on a 4 foot display and surround him in cool lights.) 
• The Kansas City Royals called to invite us to the Royals Fan Fest!!! I need a mascot!
• Tim McCoy has finished the beer for Bikes invitation, web site, facebook page and now is working on a great video for utube that we will film tomorrow .... Sent in an application for him to win  a volunteer award year...)
• Sent Thank you's to all the people who purchased Beer for Bike Tickets...

• Everyone that we helped on Beer for Bikes last year...bought a sponsorship this year!

Jillian Micheals...

Went on the Jillian Michael's Cruise in October with my sister...Loved it!  I met Giancarlo and told him about Variety and serving special need children. He told me that that was a huge interest to he and Jillian to develop exercises for that audience...Giancarlo told me he would have jhis assistant reach out to me to discuss further.

I followed up with an email to Jillian's publicist....to my surprise I received a call from Jillian assistant, Daniel. they are working with Kyle Maynard. (Very cool man and motivational speaker). I put him in touch with Variety International and we invited Empowered media or any representative to our international convention in Chicago...

Variety International sent a ;lovely email offering to help with this project anyway we can....Put it oput there and see what the Universe does with it......

Everyday...do something for someone esle and see what happens...

Remembered my favorite book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, "The Encyclopdiea of an Ordinary Life".
Her new project is a movie called the "Beckoning of Lovely: it will debut on 11/11/11 . It is a wonderful collaborative film on what Lovely means and that even the smallest of acts can have a lovely outcome. I emailed her to see what I could do in Kansas City to help her....  http://www.thebeckoningoflovely.com/

Will see what happens...I encourage you to watch what happened in Chicago on 9/9/09 and 10/10/10....LOVELY!