40th Telethon

The 40th Telethon in 2014 was one of the first Telethons that included specialized mobility presentations! During that weekend, Variety presented ten specialized bikes to children living with special needs, including one to Allie. Watch this "behind the scenes" video of Allie seeing her bike for the first time.

“Forty years ago, the first phones started ringing at the annual Variety Telethon. So much has changed for central Iowa kids since those first pledges came in, but one thing remains true - the phones kept ringing. When Stan Reynolds took the stage to congratulate the community at the end of the day, he did so with the pride that this telethon, his telethon, had brought in $4.1 million to help Iowa’s children. The smiles on the faces of the volunteers were proof that they knew exactly why we this weekend was a big deal - it was also because they were able to see the even bigger smiles on the faces of the children who received specialized bikes as part of Variety’s mission to support children of all abilities.” – Variety’s 2014 newsletter.