"LADIES & GENTLEMEN, BOYS & GIRLS, CHILDREN OF ALL ABILITIES..."

BY JACKIE SCHWABE

RIDE LIKE THE WIND: Allahna on her adaptive bike. The benefits of the specialized bikes are not just fun and games, as they provide needed physical and therapeutic activity.

Variety has a number of programs, but it is the Freedom Programs that help children gain mobility, confidence, freedom, independence and the chance to join in the life of their community by providing funding for specialized 'adaptive' bicycles, walkers, wheelchairs, therapeutic strollers and other devices to children in need.

WHY SPOTLIGHT VARIETY?

I want what most parents want for their children, a limitless future. Along my journey as an exceptional parent, I encountered organizations that were trying to help children in a variety of ways. While Variety - The Children's Charity of Wisconsin wasn't a non-profit that our family sought or received funding from, their origin story and passion for a limitless future for all children touched my heart. This month's theme at Exceptional Parent magazine is mobility. Our family is blessed to not include limited mobility in our list of challenges, but that is not the case for many other children and families we have met on our journey. To honor those families and to share a phenomenal resource, I am writing this article in hopes of connecting someone with a mobility need to a resource that can fill that need.

WHO IS THE RINGMASTER?

Interviewing Nancy Major, Executive Director/CEO of Variety The Children's Charity of Wisconsin, was a humbling experience. When I asked her what attracted her to Variety, she advised that since the early 90's, her career had been focused on helping children that were disadvantaged or underprivileged. Nancy said, "I absolutely fell in love with the mission." Nancy then shared that she was the proud grandmother of six grandchildren and two of her grandchildren have special needs, making Variety's mission, "deeply personal to me." Nancy then told me her favorite quotes of all time were these by Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. "Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else." Nancy isn't the Ringmaster, or Barker as they are still called at Variety International, of the entire movement, but she is the local ringmaster for the state of Wisconsin, where we both live. I gained a little more pride in my home state after interviewing Nancy, it seems we are home to more than "a few caring people."

WHERE'S THE BIG TENT?

What I did not know until after interviewing Nancy was that Variety was not just a local or even a national organization helping children, but an international organization that has been helping children officially since 1928. While that is, in and of itself, pretty amazing, it was why they started Variety that will melt your heart, as it did mine.

On October 10, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, eleven young men affiliated with show business met at the William Penn Hotel for the first meeting of their newly formed social club. The gentlemen decided on the name "The Variety Club" because they represented a variety of facets of the entertainment business. Just a few months later on Christmas Eve, 1928, when the manager of the Sheridan Square Theatre in Pittsburgh found an infant abandoned in the theatre the club, members decided they would help the child. Their efforts were so successful that they started the charity to help others, since the funds they received far exceeded the young child's needs. 

They erected a big circus tent inside the ballroom at the Sheridan, because the room they had reserved was too small and the room they now could use was entirely too large. They thought that having a circus tent in the middle of the room, along with peanuts, pink lemonade, and side shows would make the guests more comfortable than the large open room.

In 1935, a group of businessmen, most of them with ties to show business, formed a chapter of Variety in Milwaukee, WI. Ben Marcus, of the Marcus Theatre Company, was one of the founder members. Today the chapter is known as Variety - The Children's Charity of Wisconsin, whose mission is enriching the lives of children with physical or developmental special needs and their fam ilies. This is the chapter that Nancy Major diligently and passionately leads to help those in her local community. Today, Variety - the Children's Charity has a network of 44 offices in 13 countries and many millions of children around the world live a better life because of the generosity of Variety's donors, sponsors and supporters.

HOW DO THEY HELP?

Variety has a number of programs, but it is the Freedom Programs that help children gain mobility, confidence, freedom, independence and the chance to join in the life of their community by providing funding for specialized "adaptive" bicycles, walkers, wheelchairs, therapeutic strollers and other devices to children in need. Nancy advised that these children cannot go to a traditional retailer, like Walmart, and get a bike off the rack. The bikes children with special needs require can cost from $1500 to $6000 or more. Nancy, and others like her in the Variety family, feel that bike rides are a necessity of childhood and that all children deserve to have the experience. They feel that by helping these children ride a bike they are allowing them the chance to join in the life of their community. The benefits of the specialized bikes are not just fun and games either, they also provide for many of the children's needed physical and therapeutic activity.

Variety also offers other programs like the Discover Program, which provides free, quarterly events and activities that provide children and their families a way to connect, discover new friends and socialize – and the Care Program, which provides funding to other nonprofit children's organizations that directly impact the lives of children with special needs.

HOW THEY TOUCHED MY FAMILY

I started a blog called the Caregiving Circus ( caregivingcircus.com) when we found out my daughter had an autism diagnosis. The blog was intended as a way of giving back to all those families that helped us on our journey by sharing resources with families that have not yet found their support system. I was tired of all the depressing articles about all the things we were not going to be able to do with our daughter. Yet, there were things that were different for us and other families like us, and I wanted to share that experience in a more positive light.

We had to deal with lots and lots of people in and out of our home. We had more "poop" accidents than the average family. Life could have become really serious, and really sad, really fast. That wasn't an option for us. So, as the Reluctant Ringmaster, I began to blog about the "elephant poop" and the "bearded ladies" to both educate, entertain, and desensitize the rest of the world to our unique reality. Yet, I was reluctant to share some of the deeply personal things in our life. But I did. Because I knew that this different approach to our new life, our new circus, was much healthier for us all than the alternatives I saw available to families like us.

Then I found Variety. I found it through the odd way that people find things. Someone that once worked at our daughter's applied behavior analysis therapy (ABA) clinic had moved on to work with Nancy Major and her team at Variety and, for some reason or another, we connected. And while the affinity for the circus theme is the easy connection one can make, it was the passion in Nancy's voice as she talked about why she was at Variety that touched me, and our family. 

WHO THEY HELPED!

The team at Variety in Wisconsin has helped many children. Two of those children are Allahna and Francis, who were given adaptive bikes. Francis was only four years old when he got his bike. To see the joy it brings him and what it means to him and his family you can see his story here: youtube.com/watch?v=wC0WgXWYw44&feature=youtu.be

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Sometimes the amount of need can seem overwhelming. Perhaps you don't think what you can do matters, or that a small donation won't make a difference. Nancy and I worked together to adapt a famous quote by Steve Jobs in hopes of giving you confidence that you can make a difference:

"Here's to the specials ones, the misfits, the one's with disabilities, the ones at high risk, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently – they can't play by the same rules… the world can mock them, forget them, or vilify them, but the only thing the world can't do is ignore them because they change things … we change things… we will push the limits, and while some may see them as the disabled ones, the ones with special needs … we see limitless possibilities, because the ones who are compassionate enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." If you are one of the compassionate ones that thinks you can change the world, or even if you are one of the compassionate ones that are not yet sure you can change the world, we encourage you to donate to Variety at varietywi.org/donate. You will notice there is a $1.00 option, because every $1.00 really does help.

GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all Abilities… Come in to the circus. Visit Tent 14, Variety – The Children's Charity of Wisconsin. Or visit one of the other tents in the US or Internationally. Hear the music. Laugh at the clowns, be thrilled by the perilous leaps of the acrobats, and marvel at everything the performers do… only at the circus. Life is what you make of it. It is the greatest performance of our lives. Help Variety and other compassionate individuals to change the world, because life is the greatest show on earth, and all children deserve to be a part of the performance. •

Variety is a multi-faceted organization dedicated to one specific goal: Enriching the lives of children with physical or developmental special needs and their families. Each year, thousands of children in communities everywhere are faced with challenges that no child should have to endure. That's where Variety steps in… to level the playing field! Variety believes that every child deserves to experience the joys of being a kid.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: (Left) Francis, before receiving his new wheels; (Above) Nancy Major, Executive Director/ CEO, Variety the Children's Charity of WI."Variety programs focus on improving a child's physical and emotional health and well-being; building self-confidence; strengthening resilience; and creating opportunities to pursue a limitless future."

To find your state's local variety chapter and find out what programs they offer, go to usvariety.or

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jackie Schwabe is CEO of Mindlight, LLC. She is a Certified Caregiving Consultant and Certified Caregiving Educator. She received her BA in Management Computer Systems from the University of Wisconsin -Whitewater and her MBA in Technology Project Management from the University of Phoenix. She has been active in the area of healthcare integration, healthcare IT, telemedicine, product development, and product management for over 20 years. She has been a cross-sector, cross-discipline leadership practitioner her entire career. Jackie wakes up motivated to help others. Her mission, to provide the tools, opportunities, and connections people need to be their best self. A mother of four children – one with autism – she often says different is not less and communication happens in more ways than verbally. She co-founded MindLight, LLC as a way to technologically help caregivers.