Caring for a child with complex medical needs can be difficult – mentally, emotionally, and financially. That’s why Variety raises money each year for the Compassion Fund.

The Compassion Fund allows front-line social workers to identify needs and distribute funds immediately, providing much-needed relief for families. Variety partners with Blank Children’s Hospital, Broadlawns Medical Center, Mary Greeley Medical Center, ChildServe,  and MercyOne Des Moines in central Iowa to help families with children who are critically ill or are receiving specialized medical treatment.

The Compassion Fund provides comfort, care and fulfills immediate needs such as:

• A gas card for travel to appointments
• Meals for a parent who spends weeks at the hospital
• Payment of immediate bills such as phone, heat or electricity
• A birthday cake for a child who will spend their special day in a hospital bed
• Care for siblings when parents need to stay with their ill child