Variety - the Children's Charity of Wisconsin
About
The mission of Variety - the Children's Charity of Wisconsin is to provide life-enriching assistance to Wisconsin children challenged by physical disabilities. Variety serves Wisconsin children from birth to age 21 whose needs are not met by any other source, including family, school, insurance and service program resources. Our vision is that all children, regardless of ability or income, are able to actively participate in their communities and experience all of the joys that come with being a kid.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Variety strives to help make the world more accessible for children with physical disabilities. The Freedom Program exists to help children gain mobility, confidence, independence and community involvement by providing funding for mobility and other enabling equipment. Examples of funded equipment include adaptive bicycles, wheelchairs, walkers, lifts, ramps, vehicle modifications, and more.
The Care Program aims to improve the health, wellness and quality of life outcomes for children challenged by physical disabilities. To better the quality of life for children, Variety funds therapy services and medical or orthotic equipment to individual children to help ease the challenge of living with a disability.
The Future Program helps children with physical disabilities reach their full potential in life by focusing on education, experiences and play. This program provides memorable educational and play experiences that would likely be inaccessible to children with physical challenges due to mobility or financial limitations. Program events are offered at no cost for the families to participate. Examples of program events include outings to museums, professional sporting events, nature centers, movies and other fun and educational places. These outings strengthen family bonds, create lifelong memories, and allow children and their families to experience many new activities each year. This program also provides funding for adaptive educational and communication technology.
Chatter Matters Communication Camp is a residential camp for children who use speech generating devices such as ipads or laptops to communicate, as well as their family and caregivers. Chatter Matters gives children a voice by teaching families how to incorporate a speech generating device into their everyday activities. Through camp activities, the children improve their device use to become more competent communicators. Learning occurs through fun camp activities including arts & crafts, adaptive sports, games, music, stories, campfires and more.
