FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Katie Thaman
Communications Manager
(314) 453-0453, ext. 25
(618) 292-6974
katie@varietystl.org
Variety Children’s Chorus helps light up downtown during Macy’s Holiday Festival of Lights
St. Louis, MO – November 20, 2006 – The Variety Children’s Chorus has been invited to take part in a St. Louis holiday tradition this year. The chorus will sing from 4:58-5:23 p.m. this Wednesday in the May Amphitheatre at Kiener Plaza during Macy’s Holiday Festival of Lights.
The Variety Children’s Chorus is made up exclusively of children who receive funding from Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis, including those who receive medical equipment and those who are served by one of the agencies funded by Variety. The purpose of the Variety Children’s Chorus is to serve as an ambassador for Variety, bringing awareness of its mission of helping children with disabilities in the Greater St. Louis area. Members of the chorus learn self-esteem through the study of music and their performances. Nance St. James, a local voice coach, veteran Broadway performer, and professional radio, film and television artist, directs the chorus. She is assisted by Laurel Voss.
In 2002, the Variety Children’s Chorus was invited to perform a holiday concert at the White House in Washington, D.C. In the St. Louis area, the chorus has graced the stages of the Sheldon Concert Hall and Chase Park Plaza, and has made numerous television appearances.
Formerly Variety Club, Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis serves children with physical and mental disabilities in the Greater St. Louis region, each time they need assistance, from infancy to the age of 21. Variety President Pat Mercurio is president of Bank of America Missouri, and Variety executive director is Jan Albus. Variety has received Charity Navigator’s highest four-star rating for two consecutive years, a rare feat in the nonprofit world. Serving 1,300 families, Variety provides medical equipment, transportation, on-going developmental programs and a resource center to help children with disabilities live as independently as possible. Serving a total of 200,000 local children, every dollar raised in St. Louis stays in the Greater St. Louis area.
Variety, established in 1928, has grown to international prominence, helping children through 52 Variety chapters in 14 countries around the world, including chapters in Canada, England, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South and West Australia, and South Africa.
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