Variety Club still helps needy children
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Angela Byrnes of Shadyside shows a Star Wars pin the Variety Club was handing out Thursday for a $3 donation at Fifth Avenue Place.
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Variety the Children's Charity, an organization that supports disadvantaged children throughout the world, began as an effort to help just one child -- a baby girl abandoned in East Liberty.
On Christmas Eve in 1928, a 1-month-old baby girl was abandoned in the Sheridan Square Theatre in East Liberty, with a note signed, "a heartbroken mother."
The woman, who said she already had eight children and a husband out of work, had heard of the "goodness of show business people" and believed they would care for her daughter.
She was right. A group of 11 businessmen, all members of the Variety Club, an entertainment industry group formed the year before, "adopted" the baby they named Catherine Variety Sheridan. The outpouring of support for one child in Pittsburgh has since grown into an international organization called Variety the Children's Charity.
This year marks the 85th anniversary since the Variety Club was founded. Variety the Children's Charity of Pittsburgh will host an anniversary celebration at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown, in November.
More than eight decades later, in Pittsburgh and beyond, the mission of the charity remains the same -- to serve disadvantaged children.
"Telling the story of Catherine, that's what we are all about," said Sandra Thompson, director of programs and community outreach for Variety.
On Thursday, Ms. Thompson spent three hours in Fifth Avenue Place, Downtown, for one of the charity's annual fundraisers. This year, in addition to stuffed animals, Variety was selling Star Wars-themed pins to fund its children's program.
It marks what is believed to be the first time Star Wars creator George Lucas has licensed property to charity. The Variety group, which maintains strong ties with the entertainment industry, has its international and national headquarters in Los Angeles. Its history remains here.
"Pittsburgh was a mecca in the '20s, '30s and even '40s for show business," said Celia Hindes, the executive director of the local Variety, based in Robinson.
Movie theaters in the Pittsburgh region, such as the Cinemark and Carmike outlets, continue to support the fundraisers. Since 1996, Variety's Pittsburgh office has focused on serving children with disabilities, including through summer camps.
The Sheridan Square Theatre in East Liberty is gone, and Catherine Variety Sheridan, who later changed her name to Joan Mrlik, died in 1994. But Ms. Hindes said Variety will continue to support disadvantaged children.
"There are always going to be children in need or children in crisis, and we are here to improve the lives of those children."
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
