 |
|
|
Variety the Children's Charity of Australia
Lord Louis Mountbatten brought Variety to Australia in 1975 with Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) as the first Chief Barker (Chairman). Today, there are offices in all 6 states and the Nothern Territory, reaching tens of thousands of special children each year.
 Variety in Australia is dedicated to transforming the lives of children with special needs and to the financial year ended September 2006, we have delivered over $112 million net to assist hundreds of thousands of Australia’s sick, disadvantaged and special needs children.
Variety Australia provides grants to individuals and organisations for a great number of items such as special wheelchairs, vocal output speech devices, prosthetic limbs, special play equipment and liberty swings. We give grants to hospitals, we provide Sunshine Coaches to special schools and organisations so that kids can get out and about in the sunshine and experience life - and we also provide children special experiences such as parties and adventure camps to give them opportunities that able bodied kids may take for granted.
Since the inception of Variety Australia, special schools and other organisations have been the grateful recipients of a fleet of 1052 coaches travelling Australia, transporting children to and from school and on fun outings.
 Variety Australia has placed a total of 80 Liberty Swings (specially designed wheelchair swings) in communities around the country in just under three years and in 2006 alone Variety granted 146 wheelchairs and a total of $4.3 million in mobility equipment, communication devices and life enhancing experiences.
The annual Variety Children’s Christmas Parties reach over 32,000 children around the country each year, providing Australia’s most needy children with special Christmas memories. Variety@Work Programmes provide a huge array of exciting outings for special kids throughout the year, with ice-skating, roller-discos, bushwalking, ten-pin bowling and many other activities giving needy kids the opportunity to join the fun of Australian life.
Variety Australia employs 42 full time staff around the country who are supported by over 2,500 volunteers and committees running various events, functions, outings with children, investigation of appeals applications and more. We keep administration costs at below 10%, and our gross to net margin continues to lead every other major children's charity in the country.
 We raise funds through corporate sponsorships, donations, and events and although our work is serious, we never forget the importance of having fun. Variety Australia hold a glittering array of events hosted each year from the mad-cap adventures of the Variety “Bash”, the infamous outback road event, to high society race luncheons and star-studded gala dinners.
Our supporters, our sponsors, our volunteers and of course the special children that we help, would all testify that Variety Australia succeeds in bringing smiles to the faces of a great number of special kids and those that are helping them. We enjoy great support from Australian celebrities, companies and the media and every year sees constant growth and increased achievement.
Photos courtesy of Variety New South Wales.
PHOTO CREDIT: Karen Watson
 VARIETY AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
www.varietyaustralia.org.au
|
|
|
