A very successful 17th annual Variety Radiothon has come to an end.
A total of $56,415 was raised to help children with special needs in Prince George and Vanderhoof.
The money will go towards lifesaving medical devices, such as mobility equipment for kids, however this year, the funding will also go towards Autism Assessments.
BC families with autistic children can wait as long as 2-3 years for assessments, and without an assessment resulting in a diagnosis, families with children under 6 are unable to access the $22,000 in available government funding to support therapies.
“People have really stepped up in both Prince George and Vanderhoof we’ve had great responses,” said Variety Children’s Charity CEO Cally Wesson.
She says even donors who made a small donation were a big help to the organization, especially since Variety is a grassroots organization.
“We see on average it takes about $2,5000 to help one child and often that’s made up from 30 to 60 donors helping just that one kid,” she added.
Wesson says fundraisers like the Radiothon are particularly now important as the pandemic has taken a toll on families across the province.
“Often when a child needs something so essential, whether it be speech therapy or even something like tutoring, families are often choosing between buying groceries or they really have to scale down their budget to try and afford it, and sometimes it’s just not even possible,” she explained.
The Variety Children’s Charity recently helped 9-year-old Madison of Prince George battle her moderate to severe dyslexia, as her family received funding to pay for tutoring which helped her come out of her shell at school.