Blake Deal
The Navigator
Photo courtesy of Variety: The Children’s Charity
102.3 FM The Wave will be holding their 7th Annual Variety Children’s Radiothon to raise funds for Variety: The Children’s Charity.
On April 2, The Wave will be broadcasting live from Woodgrove Centre to help the charity raise funds for local families with children who have special needs.
The charity supports families, like Kirsty and Nicholas Savic, whose one-year-old son Mateo was born with a life-threatening heart condition. “It took the cardiologists several days to determine what type of treatment would slow his racing heart,” says Kirsty Savic. “When they tried different medications, they had paddles out just in case his heart stopped. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Mateo was delivered by specialists at an out of town hospital, making things more stressful for his parents. Variety helped by covering the unexpected costs associated with a long-term hospital stay.
“Variety gave us a gift card for groceries, and paid for a breast pump and a parking pass. They reduced our financial stress and supported us when we were out of our minds with worry about our son.”
Today, Mateo is a happy and healthy one-year-old. The Savics are one of 46 families in the Nanaimo area that Variety has helped over the last two years. Other funding has gone towards the purchase of things like speech and language therapy for a little girl with developmental delay, a power wheelchair for a boy with cerebral palsy, and expensive medication for a teen with an autoimmune disorder.
“Nanaimo and the surrounding communities have always been very supportive of our Radiothon fundraiser, and we’re so grateful for that” says Bernice Scholten, Executive Director of Variety. “It’s about families helping families, which is very powerful. We’re asking for your support again because we want to help even more children.”
On April 2, tune in to 102.3 FM The Wave or stop by Woodgrove Centre at 6631 Island Highway N in Nanaimo to donate to the Variety Children’s Radiothon.
Families and organizations seeking financial support can find more information at variety.bc.ca, or call (604) 320-0505.