Variety - Support for families when they need it most
Families all over the UK are finding it hard to manage the demands of home schooling, especially as the crisis has come about so suddenly. The current restrictions on movement mean that children can’t go out as much as they are used to, and for some this is really tough.
For children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, this can be even harder. Routines have changed, regular care support may no longer be in place, anxiety is rising and, without school, many are regressing in their development.
Will you help Variety act quickly to support some of the UK’s most vulnerable families, who are desperately struggling to cope with the situation?
One of the ways we are supporting families is by providing them with specialist resource kits to help children while they are kept indoors. The kits can help calm and soothe children, or act as visual, audio or tactile stimulation, either diverting their attention away from stressful situations or providing focus for more meaningful activities.
While these kits can transform family life, they cost around £75 each.
We initially secured funding from longstanding supporters DPD UK and Variety Golf to send 500 kits out to families. However, in just three working days, we have received applications for more than three times the number of kits than we had budgeted for.
Will you help us meet the cost of supporting families through the crisis?
We've had to temporarily pause many of our normal activities. Sunshine coaches and much of our other equipment cannot be provided, and we can’t hold any Great Days Out for now. Our fundraising has also been impacted significantly, with events cancelled or postponed, and our corporate partners needing to turn their attention to their own businesses.
Nevertheless, we believe that with your help, we will come out on the other side – as the children and families we support are too important for us to fail.
If you can make a gift of any size to help Variety support families with programmes like our resource kits, we would be hugely grateful – and so would the children and families who remain our key priority, as we know they are yours.