Toni&Guy Charitable Foundation celebrates raising £700,000 for the Variety Children's Hospital
Howard Lake | 19 March 2013 | News
Toni Mascolo, Founder of TONI&GUY, and his wife Pauline visited the TONI&GUY Ward to see how this substantial donation has helped improve the lives of children at the hospital
London – 15th March, 2013: Cav.Uff. G T Mascolo OBE KCSG and his wife Pauline Mascolo DCSG, on behalf of the TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation, today celebrated raising £700,000 for the creation and ongoing support of the TONI&GUY Ward at the Variety Children’s Hospital, at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill. The couple presented a cheque to Professor Anil Dhawan, Clinical Director-Child Health at King’s College Hospital and met the children and staff for whom the Ward was created.
In 2003 the TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation pledged to raise £700,000 within ten years, for Variety, the Children’s Charity, to renovate an entire wing of the Variety Children’s Hospital. The money was raised via events held personally by Toni and Pauline Mascolo, such as Annual Summer Garden Parties, and by salon staff who held National Hair Days, in-salon events, and participated in personal challenges such as Marathons.
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The resulting TONI&GUY Ward now specialises in treating children with sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and leukaemia. The renovations have included creating a special playroom packed with toys, books and games so that families can enjoy spending time together, as well as ensuring that all rooms on the Ward are equipped with mini fridges, flat screen TVs and fold-down beds so that parents are able to stay with their children and provide them with long-term comfort and support.
Toni Mascolo said that “raising the money to complete the renovation of the TONI&GUY Ward has made me incredibly proud of the Foundation’s accomplishments and the TONI&GUY staff’s achievements over the past decade and we hope to continue supporting many worthwhile causes, like Variety, the Children’s Charity, for years to come.”
Laurence Davis, Chief Baker at Variety, the Children’s Charity, said “Toni and Pauline are longstanding supporters of Variety and their tremendous efforts over the past 10 years have helped countless children at the Variety Children’s Hospital. Their continued fundraising to support the TONI&GUY Ward will provide children who are suffering from long term illnesses, with a much improved environment to help aid their recovery.”
The Variety Children's Hospital opened its unit at King's College Hospital in 1985 and helps more than 40,000 sick children each year from both the local community and the rest of the world. It is now one of the UK’s leading paediatric units, offering the highest quality medical care in child liver disease, neurosurgery, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. It prides itself on maintaining comfortable and engaging surroundings, with the children’s happiness in mind. With Variety’s support, in partnership with King’s College Hospital Charity and corporate donors such as the TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation, as well as patients, family and staff, the Variety Children’s Hospital has been given a completely new look, with state-of-the-art equipment and refurbished modern wards.
Variety, the Children's Charity, helps children and young people throughout the UK who are sick, disabled or disadvantaged. It does this by providing practical help including Variety Sunshine Coaches, Variety Wheelchairs and specialist equipment through the Grants programmes, as well as creating memorable childhood experiences in our Variety at Work scheme.
To find out more about Variety, the Children’s Charity or to donate to their various projects, please visit www.variety.org.uk
For further information contact:
DDA PR TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation
Leslie Funcken Cameron Tewson
02079329800 Fundraising and Charity Manager
as********@dd***.com
ca************@to********.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Variety:
Variety, the Children’s Charity, set up its UK office in 1949. The charity runs fundraising initiatives throughout the UK and has raised over £200 million in the last six decades, dedicated to increasing positive experiences for children and young people throughout the UK who are sick, disabled or disadvantaged. Variety in the UK operates under: Events, Corporate Donors, Sunshine Coaches, Wheelchairs, Legacy, Personal Giving, Community Fundraising, Regions, Youth Clubs, Disability Sports, Appeals and Young Variety.
With a focus on helping children make the most of their childhood, Variety, the Children’s Charity, provides both practical help, including Variety Sunshine Coaches and Variety Wheelchairs and specialist equipment through their Grants Programme, as well as creating memorable childhood experiences in the Variety at Work scheme. In 2012, 63 Coaches were given away 123 Wheelchairs and trikes were donated and over 50,000 children and young people attended VAW events.
Variety is also a big supporter of disabled sports access and last year partnered with SportsAid where 17 of their funded athletes were successfully picked for Team GB for the Paralympics 2012.
Variety, the Children’s Charity, launched in the United States in 1928. It is the oldest international children’s charity and ensures children and young people who are sick, disabled and disadvantaged benefit from positive childhood experiences. It has offices across 13 countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Jersey, Republic of Ireland, France, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean) which help children on a local community level.
Boasting an illustrious history stretching back to the golden age of entertainment, Variety was established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when a group of eleven men involved in showbusiness set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club" in 1927. On Christmas Eve 1928 a small baby was left on the steps of the Sheridan Square Film Theatre. Since efforts to trace the mother failed, the members of the Variety Club undertook to fund the child's living expenses and education. The club decided to raise funds for other disadvantaged children and Variety’s charitable status was born.
Since its inception, Variety has designated as “Chief Barker” the person elected by the Trustees of the Charity to act as Chairman of the Board. It is in honorary position. “Chief Barker” reflects the charity’s Showbusiness roots; these included circus, from which the term emanates.
The charity has raised US $1.7 billion and helped millions of children internationally. 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
About the TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation:
The TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation was established in 2003 by Toni Mascolo and his wife Pauline, with the aim of supporting a number of worthwhile charitable causes.
The Foundation currently funds a number of projects, including: the renovation of the TONI&GUY Ward at the Variety Children’s Hospital – London, Macmillan Cancer Support to help people in the UK living with cancer, Hair and Beauty Benevolent to support hair and beauty professionals that have fallen into financial difficulty, and Queen of the Angels Foundation in Italy, a refuge for young people.
The TONI&GUY Charitable Foundation is a UK registered charity 1095285.
About King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with more than 7,000 staff providing around 1,000,000 patient contacts a year. King’s has a unique profile, with a full range of local hospital services for people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as specialist services to patients from further afield. The Trust is recognized internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, stroke and major trauma. King’s also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students with its academic partner, King’s College London.
For more information, visit www.kch.nhs.uk.
You can also support the work of King’s College Hospital at togetherwecan.org.uk/kings-college-hospital
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.