Variety Club and Happy Days Preschool join forces for the first time
WORCESTER >> Axel is happily enjoying his new bike while two organizations geared to helping kids are thriving in their new partnership.
The seven-year-old received his adaptive trike through the mutual benevolence of Variety Club Camp and Development Center and Happy Days Preschool.
“Happy Days is an outreach of the Central Schwenkfelder Church, so we have always practiced giving back to the community ourselves,” explained Karen Schoener, Director of Happy Days Preschool.
“We have our Thanksgiving Food Drive for Manna on Main Street, a donation from our children in coins to Laurel House in December, Toys for Tots Drive at Christmas, and collection drives for Mitzvah Circle Foundation.”
Still, the preschool folks were looking to spread the wealth even further.
“We wanted to find and implement an outreach where our children were helping other children directly,” Schoener said. “At this point I reached out to Variety and spoke with Kristin Podwojski, who explained the Rachael Rosenberg Direct Care Program. It was a perfect match. Our children, three, four and five year olds, would ride their bikes to raise money to help another children get his/her own bike.”
The Rachael Rosenberg Direct Care Program was a result of the Variety Club Camp and Development Center expanding its outreach to kids with disabilities last year. The Direct Care program allows families to apply for funding based on the equipment needed by their child.
“Axel was connected to us via Dr. Tom Drake from Cooper Hospital,” explained Variety spokesperson Mary Fuller. “Dr. Drake has matched his clients up with our Rachel Rosenberg Direct Care program in the past. Now that Axel knows more about Variety he is hoping to attend summer camp here in 2020!”
Schoener then met with the preschool’s Parent Coordinators and explained the idea.
“They were so supportive and their enthusiasm and energy were equaled to our families’ support and enthusiasm,” she said. “Our Parent Coordinators, along with the church staff, were amazing in planning, organizing and implementing the ‘Fun-A-Thon’. At the ‘Fun-A-Thon’, in addition to the 10 to 15 minute bike ride that each child participated in, there were additional stations for the children and their parents to play at, parachute, chalk and bubbles and photo booth. The children even got tee-shirts to commemorate the day. About a month before the ‘Fun-AThon’ Kristin came out to our school and brought an adapted tricycle so our children and their families could see what we were working towards.”
Needless to say, the day was a huge success.
“The children and parents had an amazing time. Jeff Wickersham from FIT Kids, which provides physical education classes to our four-year-olds, first warmed up the kids for their bike ride and then the children rotated through all the stations. At the end of the morning we all enjoyed a snack break. We raised $2,120 that morning,” Schoener recalled. “But, the joy of that day was surpassed just a few short weeks ago when we got to see Axel on his new bike. I do believe that Happy Days Preschool and Variety have found a perfect partnership in children helping other children,” Schoener said.
Variety CEO Dominique Bernardo agreed.
“An event like Happy Days Trike-A-Thon is a great example of how Variety partners with community groups to support our mission. While our direct service programming remains our primary focus, when we have the resources to provide an adaptive tricycle to a child, we jump at the opportunity as it can impact the life of a child and his/her family in a meaningful and joyful way.”
The person who knows Axel best, his mother, Vanessa Barboza summed it up best.
“Axel has been his enjoying his trike so much,” she said. “Since the day we’re took it home he’s in love with his bike. Axel rides it every day after school. We go out every day with his little brothers. He had a little trouble learning how to steer in the beginning, but he got the hang of it now. I could not explain how grateful our family is just seeing how happy he is.”