Supporting Variety in a New Sunshine Coach

In April 2024, at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards held at The Londoner Hotel, London, JCB, Greenshields JCB and key customers offered to fund a ‘Sunshine Coach’ for Variety, the Children’s Charity.  The customers included Charles Wilson Plant Hire, Coinford Ltd, Gallagher Group, Morris Leslie, Rocket Rentals, and Standard Plant Hire Ltd.

For 75 years, Variety has changed the lives of disabled and disadvantaged children in the UK. With 1.5 million disabled and 4.3 million poor children in the UK, their work is vital. Their programs give children the tools and chances to thrive. They include a wheelchair, specialist equipment, a Sunshine Coach, a Variety Great Day Out, and work experience through Access Interns.

Variety’s famous Sunshine Coaches are accessible minibuses. They are for SEND schools and non-profits working with disabled and disadvantaged children. A Sunshine Coach is a passport to a world of new experiences. The coaches let youngsters explore places they would never visit. They experience new learning environments and gain life skills outside the classroom. This supports their physical, social, and language development.

This particular Sunshine Coach has been donated to Glendinning Academy in Newton Abbot. Glendinning Academy opened in 2020. The Academy is for children aged 7 to 16, with social and communication needs, including those on the autism spectrum.

Laurence Guinness, CEO of Variety said; “We are immensely grateful to Greenshields JCB and their key customers for their generous donation of a Sunshine Coach to Glendinning Academy. This coach will give children with social needs new experiences. It will support their development and enrich their lives. “Such partnerships are vital to our mission to transform the lives of disabled and disadvantaged children in the UK.”

The Glendinning Academy supports students in developing their communication, social, and emotional skills. They help pupils and their parents/carers with academics and independence. They are vital for the pupils to enjoy, succeed, and achieve.