Variety the Children's Charity of St. Louis - Area children’s charities receive education, grants 11/15/06

St. Louis, MO – November 15, 2006 – Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis gave away numerous gifts yesterday to children’s charities from throughout the metropolitan area, in the form of of education, funding, transporation and awards.

The Champions for Children Summit, held at Chase Park Plaza, started with an inaugural educational forum, featuring national and local speakers. Variety offered this free seminar to its charities because many such conferences are not specific to these charities’ needs, said Executive Director Jan Albus. “Since we have agencies ranging from very small to very large, I thought it would be important to bring in two speakers who could focus on health and human services in St. Louis, with an emphasis on agencies of all sizes,” Albus said.

Trent Stamp, president and chief executive officer of Charity Navigator, flew in from New Jersey to start off the forum. Charity Navigator serves as a guide for donors, evaluating more than 5,000 charities nationwide. He spoke about philanthropic and fundraising trends in the Greater St. Louis area, comparing those to trends on a national scale.

Cindy Brinkley, president of at&t Missouri, spoke to these charity representatives about “landing, keeping and growing” corporate partnerships. She shared tips for thinking and acting like a business in considering a potential corporate sponsor’s activities, business practices and competition. Albus said, “I’m asked a lot of questions about that topic. I thought it would be interesting to have somebody speak about how to become successful at landing corporate sponsorships.”

Following the forum was Variety’s 40th annual Allocations Luncheon, attended by 650 guests and representative of all 90 charities funded by Variety, as well as several sponsors and community members. The Variety Children’s Chorus performed at the luncheon, opening and closing an hour
of celebration for Variety and these partner charities. The charities are divided into seven panels – behavioral counseling, camps, clubs/community centers, day cares, hospitals, schools and special disabilities – and they all reflect Vareity’s mission of serving children with physical and mental disabilities and are funded for specific programs to fulfill that mission.

Hollywood star Jim Byrnes was honored as Variety’s 2006 Champion for Kids, an annual award that honors one local individual who is recognized nationally for his or her positive contributions. Byrnes, a native of St. Louis and a life-long actor and musician, is best known for his roles on “Highlander” and “Wiseguy.” Faced with his own challenges after the loss of his legs in a highway accident, Byrnes encompasses the “I CAN” spirit of Variety.

Variety’s allocations to these 90 agencies did not stop with grants. Variety’s 2006 Man and Woman of the Year, David Steward and Peggy Ritter, presented keys for 12-passenger Sunshine Coach vans to six charities. Those receiving vans were Catholic Children’s Home of Alton; Family Resource Center, St. Vincent Home and Logos School, all of St. Louis; Youth in Need of St. Charles; and Center for Autism Education of O’Fallon. These vans will be used to transport children to doctor’s appointments, therapy sessions, and various programs and activities.

Seven exceptional charities received Variety’s Stellar Performance awards: Sequoia House of Florissant; PTO for Exceptional Children of Belleville; Life Skills, Cornerstone Center for Early Learning Inc. and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, all of St. Louis; United Services for Handicapped Inc. of St. Peters; and Ride On St. Louis Inc. of Kimmswick.

Variety handed out its annual “Have a Heart, Lend a Hand” awards to three committed volunteers, who have donated hundreds of hours in a wide array of capacities. This year’s recipients are Debby Hollingsworth of Manchester, Dianne Berns of South City and Mike Stroot of Wildwood.

Also at the luncheon, Nestle Purina PetCare received Variety’s annual President’s Award, which honors a corporate sponsor for its exhibit of outstanding support to the organization. Steve Crimmins, vice president of marketing at Purina, accepted the award.

The Champions for Children Summit, through the forum and luncheon, accomplished its goal of providing education, allocation and celebration for 90 charities supported by Variety.

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