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Dear Friends of Variety:
This letter will bring you
up-to-date in regard to the future direction that Variety the
Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City – Tent 8 will be taking
beginning with funding allocations for the period ending September 30, 2007.
In compliance with a directive
from the national organization, each Tent has been asked to focus
on a program which has been named “Mobility.”
By way of explanation, the urgent need for motorized wheelchairs
and vehicle lifts has been documented by the numerous requests
our office has received in the last year or two. The problem of
supplying these pieces of equipment is, of course, the financial
investment they require.
In addition, but also coming
under the Mobility banner, are bikes with modifications for handi-capped
children. In some areas,
notably the west coast, they have become the single one item supplied
by Variety Tents. The costs
of providing modified bikes, once again, carry a stiff price tag.
Variety the Children’s Charity
of Greater Kansas City – Tent 8 has just launched our new “Kids
On The Go” Program.
If you have a child with mobility needs, we invite you
to submit an application for consideration for funding
under this new program.
For the Kids,
Heart Committee
Variety of Greater Kansas
City - Tent 8
Kids
On The Go - Program Application
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THE HOUGH FAMILY GETS WHEELS
Rewind to the summer of 2006. The family was featured
in a story in The Kansas City Star newspaper
about Willie & Gary Hough who are parents, adoptive
parents and foster parents to several children with special
needs. The loving couple had 12 children, 10 with medical
disabilities, 3 of which were wheelchair bound. Buried
deep in the story was a short sentence, “Their van needs
repairs and a wheel-chair lift they can’t afford”
The Variety Board read the story and called immediately
to offer help, and within a month a new Braun wheelchair
lift was installed in their van. Life got a little better
for the Hough family.
Winter 2007. During
a call to the Hough household to see how all was doing,
Variety learned that the family van had been totaled in
a wreck. Now they were without proper transportation for
the children. Willie was having a hard time getting the
children to and from school and their many various doctor
and therapy appointments, having to manually lift them into
and strap them into their mini-van seats. Again, the Variety
Board wanted to do something … A Radiothon was in the works.
Variety was launching their new “Kids On The Go!” Mobility Program. Thanks
to the donations generated from the Radiothon, Variety purchased
a Ford E-350 15-passenger coach and had the lift removed
from the old van and installed into the new coach for the
family. The new van allows all three of the children in
their wheelchairs and the entire family to be transported
at the same time. The completely outfitted van was presented
to the Hough family at a special Presentation and Movie
Party on May 26, 2007.
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2002
Winter Sunshine Coaches At The Door
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Mini-Sunshine Coaches
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Happy Birth Day! Early in January, 2006, Variety of Greater Kansas City - Tent 8 proudly produced the first "Mini Sunshine Coach." Keeping with the spirit of mobility - Variety presented DeLaSalle Education Center PACES Program with a 4-seater Bye-Bye Buggy officially logo-ed and signed as a Variety Mini Sunshine Coach. The buggy allows the PACES program to transport up to 4 children at a time, utilizing only one staff member, to the outside playground or for any outdoor outing. Delivery day, January 9, 2006 although chilly, turned out sunshiny and bright as DeLaSalle personnel with two lucky PACES kids tried out the new ride for the first time.
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Jenner Philpott
on the Go!
| The call came into the Variety - Tent 8 office.
The young widowed mother of two on the line was in need of
help. Her youngest son, Jenner, with multiple disabilities,
has grown over the years and she no longer could handle the
weight of loading him and his wheelchair into the family van
to go anywhere. Her eldest son although a strapping young
man was a big help, but the teenager had school and sports
that took most of his time and could not be there all the
time. Thus, Lisa Philpott and Jenner were relegated to sitting
at home. Mrs. Phillpott desperately needed a wheelchair lift
for her van which would enable her to single-handedly transport
Jenner to and from his school, his sports activities (yes,
Jenner played on a special needs t-ball team), with her to
grocery shop or to visit friends and relatives .. everyday
things that were becoming more and more difficult to do. Could
Variety - Tent 8 help? You bet! The Variety Heart Committee
took haste in reviewing the request, visited the Philpott
home to evaluate the needs of the family, and unanimously
voted to provide the financial assistance needed to purchase
and install the coveted wheelchair lift. On April 26, 2006,
Variety Heart Chair Joyce Hager-VanHoosier and Nadine Mummaw
visited the Philpotts and witnessed Jenner being lifted into
the van using the newly installed lift. Thanks to Variety
- Tent 8, the family were able to go on a much looked-forward
to out-of-state vacation, resting assured that Jenner and
the entire family would be able to enjoy all the activities,
together. |
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