Inside Variety - May 2008

Don’t miss out on this mouth-watering event! On Tuesday, May 13 from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, you can walk into ANY participating Pizza Nova location in Ontario and buy a delicious medium pepperoni pizza for only $3.99. AND One dollar from every pizza SOLD goes to Variety-The Children's Charity. Click here for more information.

Quest for Gold
Olympic swimmer Alex Baumann, Paralympian Tracey Ferguson, Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best, and Olympic wrestler Tonya Verbeek announced a $700,000 Quest for Gold grant to the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Road to Excellence program on April 24 at Variety Village. This grant will allow athletes with podium potential to attend more competitions, increase training and provide access to specialized equipment.

Tracey, a Variety Village Wall of Fame inductee, pointed to the urgent need of such support – not only because it allows current athletes to go to the Olympics but also because it creates the motivation for a whole new generation of athletes, including athletes here at Variety Village.

Saturday, May 10, 2008
The 26th Annual Toronto Police Children’s Games
Only five more days until the Police Games! Children of all ages look forward to sharing the enthusiastic involvement of police officers from all the Units and Divisions from within the Toronto Police Service in a myriad of games and sports. Anyone interested in attending the games must register prior to the day of the event. (We will not accept any registrations on the day of the event.) Please contact Chris Murdoch for more information.

Walk-n-roll is rockin' again!
For a day filled with friends, fun and food be sure to mark September 21 on your calendar! Participants can walk or wheel their way through a 5km or 1km route that starts at Variety Village and proceeds through neighborhood streets. Variety’s goal is to raise $250,000 to help make a difference in the spirits and lives of the children who benefit from Variety’s programs and services. Registration and pledge information available soon. Registration and pledge information will be available soon.

Victoria Grzincic
Victoria’s favourite thing about swimming is simply having fun. The grade six student is a member of the Flames Swim Team and has been swimming since she could talk, but has only been swimming competitively since September.
One of the first things you notice when you meet Victoria is that she is always smiling. Her coaches and team mates love her sense of humour. Her love of the water and get-go attitude encouraged her younger sister to get over her fear of water.
In December 2007, Victoria shaved an incredible seven minutes off her 25-metre backstroke. Her coach says, “This is by far the most improved swim that I have ever seen or heard of.” Victoria is thrilled to have all her hard work pay off and she hopes to cut even more time from her backstroke this season.
She is looking forward to camp this summer where she will practice her swimming skills in the lake.
Click here to meet more Variety Heroes.