Variety International Annual Awards

Along with the Humanitarian Award, the following Awards are presented annually at the Variety International Convention: The Catherine Variety Sheridan Award, William R. Forman International Heart Awards, The Sir James Carreras Award, Corporate Awards, Media Awards, Mort Sunshine Awards, Sunshine Coach Awards, Wheelchair Mobility Award and Presidential Citations.

 Tent 75 South Australia wins the prestigious Gold Heart Award
Above: Members from Tent 75 South Australia celebrate their success with International President Grahame Mapp and 
Ambassador Sue Mapp at the International Convention in New Zealand, May 2008.

William R. Forman International Heart Awards
Named in honor of William Forman, the late Founder and Board Chairman of Pacific Theatres and veteran motion picture executive, these Awards are presented annually at Variety International Conventions.

William Forman was the father of the modern-day drive-in theatre. From his student days at the University of Washington, where he worked as a theatre employee, Forman had the vision of drive-in theatre growth for families, and developed the concept as a convenient and comfortable way to see the movies. In the late 1940s he moved to Southern California to launch Pacific Theatres’ drive-ins and walk-ins.

Long an industry leader and benefactor, Forman also headed and controlled Cinerama Inc. Worldwide. His Cinerama Dome in Hollywood established a modern-day version of luxury movie-going with giant screen and surround sound. Variety International annually presents three Heart Awards: the Bronze, the Silver, and the Gold. Winners are based on the fiscal year ending September 30. The decision is always a difficult one because there are so many excellent Variety Tents around the world.

The Heart Awards Finalist Presentations are the highlight of every annual Convention allowing the attendees to catch a true glimpse of the ingenuity, hard

Above: International President Grahame Mapp presents the Silver Heart Award to Variety St. Louis Executive Director Jan Albus.

work and dedication in each of the Variety Tents. 



Since the 1982 Convention in New York, Variety International has presented a William R. Forman Heart Award of US$15,000 every year to the winner of the Gold Heart Award, US$10,000 to the winner of the Silver Heart Award and US$5,000 to the winner of the Bronze Heart Award. 

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:
Gold Heart Award 
- Tent 75 South Australia (top)
Silver Heart Award 
- Tent 4 St. Louis (above right)
Bronze Heart Award 
- Tent 47 British Columbia (left)

Click Here for Heart Award Recipients 1939 - 2007
Above: President's Council Member Barbara Stewart and International Vice President 
Bob Stewart accept Bronze Heart Award from International President Grahame Mapp.

The Catherine Variety Sheridan Award
The Catherine Variety Sheridan Award is awarded to individuals for significant philanthropic support of charitable organizations serving children. Individuals receiving this Award have demonstrated outstanding generosity and a long-term commitment of financial support to child-serving programs throughout the world.

This Award is named after the baby who was abandoned on Christmas Eve in 1928 at the Sheridan Square Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The eleven founders of Variety the Children’s Charity decided to adopt the little girl and the rest is Variety history.

Award Recipient at the 2008 Convention: Rosie Horton - dedicated philanthropist who has blazed a trail of fundraising success and made a significant difference in the lives of New Zealand children (photo left)

Click Here for Catherine Variety Sheridan Award Recipients 1983 - 2008

Right: Marsha Rae Ratcliff, Variety International President's Council Co-Chairman, works diligently on the model for the newly created Catherine Variety Sheridan and Humanitarian Awards, designed in the likeness of the child that started it all: Catherine Variety Sheridan.

The Sir James Carreras Award
This Award honors the name of Sir James Carreras MBE, who served Variety International with great distinction as one of its past International Presidents. It is presented annually to a physician who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill in the field of pediatrics. 

The Award was established and sponsored by Jarvis Astaire, Past President of Variety International, in 1986 through 1998. Since 1999 the Sir James Carreras Award was sponsored through the generosity of Aaron Ruben and Maureen Arthur-Ruben, Vice President, Variety International. The Variety of the United States sponsored the Award in 2004 and Variety Children’s Lifeline sponsored it in 2005 and 2006. It is the dedication of the physicians, such as those that participate on the missions of Variety Children’s Lifeline, who give of their skills to save or improve the lives of so many children around the globe that merits our gratitude. It is an honor and privilege that so many physicians have chosen to associate themselves with Variety the Children’s Charity.

Award Recipient at the 2008 Convention: Dr. Percy Pease (photo right) - pediatric surgeon for 27 years at the Starship Children's Hospital and currently at Auckland Pediatric Centre. He has undertaken medical missions to Somoa and Tonga since 1979 and 1981 and is a founding Board Member of Variety Children's Lifeline program in the South Pacific 
 
Click Here for Sir James Carreras Award Recipients 1986- 2008

Corporate Awards
Honoring deserving corporations since 1993, Variety International presents its Corporate Awards to corporations in recognition of a demonstrated commitment to the mission of Variety to improve the lives of children throughout the world. Corporations honored with this Award are selected because of their extraordinary contributions of talent, time, creativity and financial support to our Charity. This significant and valuable corporate support enables Variety Tents throughout the world to increase the funds they raise for worthwhile children’s programs in their communities and enhances the awareness of the positive impact of Variety upon the lives of children in need. Variety International is privileged to pay tribute to these exceptional corporate citizens whose generosity and compassion touch the lives of countless children in need throughout the world.

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:

Coca-Cola / Tent 21 Georgia	AMC Theatres US / Tent 25 S. California
Accessible Retail / Tent 36 Great Britain	Royal Bank of Canada / Tent 47 British Columbia
Jarvis Cars / Tent 75 South Australia	Federal Group / Tent 78 Tasmania
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre/ Tent 56  New South Wales	Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre / Tent 77  Victoria

Media Awards
The Variety International Media Awards recognize corporations for contributions in media to the charitable efforts of Variety Tents across the world. Publicity for our work on behalf of children is invaluable: it increases awareness and the impact of a Variety Tent on the children in its community as well as helps raise the needed funds enabling a Tent to reach more kids in need. Nominations for the Media Awards are considered from the following four categories: Television, Radio, Print and Advertising. 

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:
Radio - Jim Pattison Broadcast Group / Tent 47 British Columbia
Print - Video Business Magazine / Tent 25 S. California
Television - WKBW TV Granite Broadcasting Co. / Tent 7 Buffalo
Advertising - Republik Communications / Tent 68 New Zealand

Mort Sunshine Awards

The Variety International Mort Sunshine Awards are presented to Variety Tents for excellence and merit in the publication and design of their Tent newsletters, magazine publications and websites. Independent judges review each piece and judge the following criteria: quality of writing, editing, content, design, and consistency in publication, photo editing and selection.

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:
Website - Variety of Australia
Magazine - Tent 56 New South Wales
Newsletter - Tent 75 South Australia


Sunshine Coach Awards
The Variety International Sunshine Coach Awards are presented to Variety Tents for their outstanding accomplishment in providing Variety Sunshine Coaches to local children’s organizations. Every seat in each Sunshine Coach counts as an opportunity to help one more child in need.

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:
Tent 56 New South Wales
Tent 76 Queensland
Tent 82 Northern Territory

Wheelchair Mobility Award
Variety Tents around the world provide mobility aids that may not be available through government sources. These include electric and manual wheelchairs, sports wheelchairs, specialised tricycles, bicycles, scooters, buggies, as well as wheelchair accessible Liberty Swings.

The Wheelchair Mobility Award debuted at the 2008 Variety International Convention in New Zealand. It will be awarded to a Tent that proactively works to increase the number, value and funds raised towards the donation of this important equipment. This Tent has gone above and beyond the call of duty either through media sources, specialized events, or by approaching special needs schools, hospitals, medical centres, or physiotherapists to convey the message that this assistance is available to families in need.

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:
Tent 36 Great Britain
Tent 56 New South Wales

Presidential Citations
The Presidential Citation is an honor for the “unsung hero” within a Variety Tent. It is presented by the Variety International President to individuals nominated by Variety Tents for their exceptional efforts and contributions to the work of the Tent. 

The criteria for the Presidential Citations deals with the length of time a nominee has been involved in a Tent, the fundraising efforts and results, support for a Tent’s activities and any other outstanding contributions. Variety International Board members, immediate Past Chief Barkers and previous recipients of Presidential Citations are not eligible to receive a Presidential Citation.

Above: Tent 68 New Zealand Executive Director  Lorraine Taylor (right) congratulating Presidential Citation Recipient  Aline Sandilands (left)

Award Recipients at the 2008 Convention:  Mark Koritz - Tent 4 St. Louis Michael Bressler - Tent 5 Detroit  Priscilla Candiliotis - Tent 7 Buffalo  Darlene Fischer - Tent 15 Iowa  Allie Fullmer - Tent 25 Southern California Andrew Sheppard - Tent 35 New York  Doreen and Larry Golding - Tent 36 Great Britain Yvonne Loftus Kelly - Tent 41 Ireland Arlene MacDonald - Tent 47 British Columbia Chris Robin - Tent 52 Jersey  John Paul Young - Tent 56 New South Wales Kay Beddome - Tent 58 Manitoba  Aline Sandilands - Tent 68 New Zealand (photo left) Greg "Stork" Anderson - Tent 74 Western Australia Ian Martens - Tent 75 South Australia  Ken Carswell - Tent 76 Queensland  Paul Herbert - Tent 77 Victoria  Michael J. Kent AM - Tent 78 Tasmania Brian Measey - Tent 82 Northern Territory