For a Good Cause

National BBQ Day 2006 is proud to be working in association with Variety, The Children's Charity. This year we hope many Australians will take the opportunity to host their own a National Barbecue Day event and raise funds for this very worthy cause.

Variety, The Children’s Charity is dedicated to helping Australia’s special needs children.

It all started in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA on Christmas Eve in 1928 when a group of 11 showmen found a baby girl abandoned in the Sheridan Theatre. They decided to foster the child and named her Catherine Variety Sheridan.

Her story became an inspiration to help children everywhere and since those early beginnings, Variety has become an international organisation, operating in 14 countries and raising over US$1 billion to help children in need throughout the world.

Variety started in Australia in 1975 and now has separate representation in each state. Variety achieves its objectives by making grants throughout the year to hospitals and individual children for special equipment including special types of wheelchairs, vocal output speech devices, prosthetic limbs, special play equipment and Sunshine Coaches to name but a few.

Nationally, Variety raises more than $900,000 each month in assistance for special children, but thousands more is needed to reach all the children who call for our help. After all, nearly 15 per cent of children in Australia live in poverty, according to the UN - that’s one in seven Aussie kids.

Variety raises a large amount of its funds throughout the year by conducting high-profile events including: National BBQ Day, the Melbourne Cup Lunch, the annual Variety “Bash”, a fun-filled motoring adventure through the Australian outback; the Gold Heart Appeal, The Variety Heart Awards, and many other corporate fundraising events.

90 per cent of every dollar donated to Variety goes to helping an Australian child in need, and with your more calls for help will be answered.