Kennedy helped by Variety Club

12 year old Kennedy Jarvis is able to do these things because she was provided with a special buggy by the Variety Club of Great Britain and became one of thousands of children across the country being helped by the charity.

The Variety Club launches its Gold Heart campaign in shops this month, fronted by Colleen Rooney who designed the badge herself, but in the meantime Kennedy is someone who has already been helped by the organisation.

Kennedy, of Camber Close, is a pupil at Glyne Gap school who was born with a rare chromosome deletion which means she is physically and mentally disabled.

Her mum Karen said: "She is more physically disabled than mentally and this does mean she cannot stand and walk. She relies on us 24/7 to get around."

Kennedy belongs to a rare chromosome group which organised for the Variety Club to supply her with new transport - the charity presented her with a Rodeo buggy which has a tilt mechanism, and which makes it possible for her to access all sorts of places which otherwise would have been impossible.

Karen commented: "We took it with us to Disneyland last June and it was so easy to get on and off the rides, and push her around, and she was comfortable and safe in it. Kennedy is the only one in the world with the deletion she has got - every child is different - but it is difficult because she is nearly as tall as me now, so having a buggy I can wheel her around in that is not hard work is lovely.

"Kennedy went to Lapland UK with it which was fantastic, and she goes to brownies which she absolutely loves. She goes to 2nd Bexhill Brownies at St Stephen's church and loves the social company and the pack leaders are good - they wanted to promote disability both ways, the other children get a lot out of it, and she does socially, so it works both ways. She couldn't get in the building with a wheelchair but I can get her in with the buggy. The building is not adapted for wheelchairs but I can move the buggy around more."

In its 60 years of fundraising, the Variety Club has provided over 3,250 wheelchairs and supplied 4,849 Sunshine coaches, and 20,000 to hospitals.