psd is pleased to announce its new charity partner Variety, the Children’s Charity, for its London branch. We will support Variety’s mission to improve the lives of children and young people across the UK who are disadvantaged by disability, poor health or poverty.

When statutory funding cannot adequately meet a child’s needs, Variety steps in. Variety believes that all children should have an equal opportunity to reach their potential, regardless of their circumstances, providing practical, tangible help that makes an immediate difference to those children and their families.

Variety helps fund children’s hospitals and hospices, creating environments that are more welcoming and reassuring. Children cared for at home are given specialist equipment to improve their everyday care and help reduce stress for both children and parents.  Youth clubs receive funding for equipment, enabling them to offer more facilities, keeping vulnerable young people off the street.  Each year Variety takes tens of thousands of children on ‘Great Days Out’, creating memorable experiences.

Staff from the psd London office will be organising a number of fundraising and awareness raising activities to help support the charity in its core mission.

psd has raised over £18,000 in the last two years towards our chosen charities, and has twice been awarded the Payroll Giving Platinum Award by the Charities Aid Foundation. psd match what the staff donate through the payroll giving scheme, plus offer each member of staff one extra day of paid leave per year to carry out volunteer work.

We look forward to partnering with Variety and working to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children and their families, helping them to reach their potential and make the most of their childhood.

Danielle Roche, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Variety: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome psd London into Variety’s supporter family. psd is fantastic company with a track record of success and putting people first. As organisations, we work in different sectors, but we share some very important values, particularly Accessibility, Commitment, and Adaptability. We look forward to a long and happy relationship, a relationship focussed on improving the lives of children and young people throughout the UK who are disadvantaged by disability, poor health or poverty”

Stefan Ciecierski, psd CEO added: “The charities psd support are chosen by employees, and we are proud to be partnering with an organisation that has such passion for improving the lives of children and giving them the best start to life possible.”

Get involved and support our activities by following our updates on our partnership with Variety on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Learn more about the work of Variety here.

About Variety, the Children’s Charity

Variety believes that neither disability nor disadvantage should prevent a child from realising their full potential. This year, Variety will celebrate its 70^th anniversary in the UK, having been founded in October 1949. In this time, the charity has supported almost one million disabled and disadvantaged children.

With a focus on helping children make the most of their childhood, Variety provides support in the following five ways:

• Through the provision of bespoke Sunshine Coaches, making it possible for children to get out and about so that they can learn practical life skills and enjoy trips out to places they otherwise couldn’t get to
• Through the provision of customised wheelchairs, helping to increase independence and improve medical outcomes
• Through the provision of specialist disability equipment to individuals and organisations in ways that will make the biggest difference
• Through the delivery of the Variety Great Days Out programme, creating memorable experiences through educational initiatives and exciting outings
• Through the design of specialist projects to transform the facilities of schools and children’s hospitals

Variety launched in the United States in 1928 and is the oldest international children’s charity. It has divisions across 13 countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Jersey, Republic of Ireland, France, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean) helping children at the local community level.

Since 2009, Variety has partnered with SportsAid to support young sporting talent from different Paralympic disciplines, by providing essential items such as sport kits and equipment, to support with travel costs and accommodation. Of the 55 disabled athletes Variety has supported, 17 were chosen as part of Team GB for the 2012 London Paralympics and included Gold Medal winners and MBE honourees Ollie Hynd and Johnnie Peacock.

Variety is a registered charity in England and Wales (209259) and Scotland (SC038505)

For more information or to donate to Variety, please visit www.variety.org.uk

Follow Variety, the Children’s Charity on twitter @VarietyGB or www.facebook.com/VarietyGB