5-year old Mikey received his new communication device on June 9, 2020 through Variety’s My Voice® Program!

On June 18^th, Mikey’s mom, Laura wrote and told us, “Getting familiar with Mikey’s new device this morning! I am letting him choose the words then we have a conversation about them. The more we do this, the more he will become familiar with it and our conversations will start to take shape! This is beyond exciting for us.

We now have a way to help him express himself. This is the greatest gift. We are so thankful for his speech therapist who took the time to program this device for him and came to the house to help us get a good start. We are also so thankful for Variety – the Children’s Charity of Pittsburgh for working with us to get him this! We are just overwhelmed with gratitude.”

Then, we got a second update on July 14^th, and Laura said, “We are so thankful for all of you! We are still learning a lot, but he found his favorite tv show all by himself the other day and screamed with delight! He was able to ask us for the exact show he wanted to watch. It was the best feeling to see him so elated. It made my mama heart burst.”

Can you feel her joy in those words?

In the midst of a pandemic, Variety continues to make a difference for kids with disabilities, and because of our grant through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Mikey now has a voice.