News : The Variety Club Brings us Sunshine
DE VERE HOTELS & RESORTS, DJ PETE PRICE OF RADIO CITY AND THE VARIETY CLUB CHILDREN’S CHARITY BRING SUNSHINE TO THE LEGACY RAINBOW HOUSE
The Variety Club Children’s Charity and De Vere Hotels & Resorts today handed over the keys to a brand new Sunshine Coach t
o the children and staff of The Legacy Rainbow House.
De Vere Hotels and Resorts are part of the AHG/MWB Group, who support The Variety Club across all of their nine businesses and brands. Through a combination of staff fundraising, customer initiatives and high profile events De Vere Hotels & Resorts hopes to raise £250,000 by the end of next April for the children and young people that The Variety Club supports.
Since the first Variety Club Sunshine Coach was presented in the UK some 46 years ago, over 4,700 Sunshine Coaches have been put on the road, opening up a world of possibilities for children from all over the UK.
Joanne Mawdsley, Founder and Chief Executive of The Legacy Rainbow House said:
“We are very grateful to the Variety Club and De Vere Hotels for awarding us this Sunshine Coach of which £10,000 was donated to us from Awards for All, which is part of The Big Lottery Fund. This will give more children access to our services, and provide all our children with so many more opportunities to go to places and do things which were impossible before now. We hope that in helping the children to experience new things outside of our centre this will encourage their development and help them to lead more independent lives in the future.”
Malcolm Brenner, Chairman of the Variety Club Sunshine Coach Committee said
“Since the first in 1962, we have donated 4,850 Sunshine Coaches. Variety’s Minibuses ensure children can interact with the world around them in an environment of fun, entertainment and education whilst ensuring our most precious cargo is transported as safely as possible. With the support of celebrities such as Jonathan the Variety Club can continue to highlight that being disabled or disadvantagedneed not be a barrier to achieving the most out of life.”
The Variety Club Children’s Charity supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children throughout the UK.
Variety Club provides support by:
- Giving Sunshine Coaches to schools with disabled pupils, children’s hospitals and hospices and to many other types of organisations. 115 coaches were provided throughout 2008.
- Providing wheelchairs, mobility aids and other equipment to disabled children. 154 Wheelchairs and mobility aids were provided to children in 2008.
- Providing funding and equipment to hospitals and hospices that treat sick children. The Variety Club Children’s Hospital at King’s College London treats 40,000 children every year.
- Organising "Variety at Work" days for children across the country taking children on a range of fun and educational visits. Last year 60,000 children and young people were able to experience these once in a lifetime trips.
