Variety, the Children’s Charity of Buffalo & WNY
Announces $1,014,326 dollars being raised during
The 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon!
Lancaster, NY (www.varietybuffalo.org) A huge heartfelt THANK YOU to all of Buffalo and Western New York, for your support of the 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon, raising $1,014,326 for the Variety Club of Buffalo Tent #7!
We are profoundly grateful to continue to help the kids who need us the most. We could not do it without the incredible support of this truly amazing community.
The funds raised directly support Golisano Children’s Hospital, and other Children’s charities. The 64th Annual Telethon event aired Saturday, March 21, 2026, on WGRZ-TV Channel 2, the NBC affiliate in Buffalo from 6pm until 11pm, and Sunday, March 22, 2026, from 10am until 8pm on WBBZ-TV, the locally owned MeTV affiliate, broadcast on Channel 67.1 on-air; Cable 5. Both days were held LIVE from the Variety Headquarters in Lancaster, New York.
Tony Vaccaro, President of Variety commented “We are thrilled to announce the Variety Kids Telethon raised $1,014,326. The Telethon is more than just a weekend event, this weekend was the culmination of a year of fundraising and we couldn’t have done it without our volunteers, our Corporate partners, including WGRZ Channel 2 and WBBZ Channel 5, our supporters that attend our events throughout the year or the loyal supporters that call in their pledges. As a result, we can continue to help Golisano Children’s Hospital provide state of the art services to the children of Western New York as well as helping many other charities who need us the most.”
The Channel 2 on-air personalities Saturday, and WBBZ-TV personalities Sunday, joined Paul Cambria, President Emeritus of Variety, along with Darius Pridgen, the former Buffalo Common Council President from the Ellicott District and Bishop of the True Bethel Baptist Church, in hosting the event.
For 2026, we welcomed back “Buffalo Joe” Andreessen #44 of the Buffalo Bills and Legendary linebacker, #56 Darryl Talley came together to create a touchdown for the Kids! We were honored to have many other hometown talents coming together as a community to raise funds for the kids that need us the most.
Hundreds of Corporate Partners joined Variety in our mission to help the children of WNY. One of them is Delta Sonic donating over $100,000+ thanks to sales of Buffalo Bills posters, Coupon Books and “Round Up” options.
This year’s Celebrity Child was the little ray of sunshine, Sully Mettille. Sully along with his twin sister Mary, older sister Lizze, his mom and dad joined General Chair Kathy Kaminski, Co-Chair Susan Grelicki, Honorary Chairperson Mr. Russell Salvatore with talented artists from right here in Buffalo & WNY! Video stories were presented featuring Golisano Children’s Hospital, members of the medical team, past Celebrity children, and patient stories profiling the miracles that happen at Golisano Children’s Hospital every day.
Throughout the 15 hours of the Telethon, various corporate matches and donations were made by so many incredible members of our Buffalo and WNY community, coming together for our kids. As of 8pm on Sunday, March 22, $1,014,326 was raised. It was a wonderful time celebrating Variety’s history.
“The Telethon is a great celebration of Western New York coming together to help children and families, broadcast and streamed for Buffalo and all the world to witness. WBBZ-TV 5 is honored to produce and air the event with WGRZ Channel 2. We also value the satellite support from WKBW and technical support from Indigo Productions, Hale Northeastern, and audio engineer Jim Pritchard. On behalf of our owner Phil Arno, Manager Chris Musial, and our Production Team, we value being a part of this legacy event; said, John Di Sciullo Co- Producer of the Variety Kids Telethon.
On behalf of the children we serve, Thank You! To ensure we can help all our variety kids, please honor your pledge. Donations can still be made online at varietybuffalo.org. All the monies raised stay local and help support the Golisano Children’s Hospital as well as many other local charities that benefit children. For more information, please visit varietybuffalo.org!
The Variety Club of Buffalo thanks WGRZ-TV Channel 2 General Manager Mark Manders and his team, WBBZ-TV owner Phil Arno and his team, the staff and production team, Golisano Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Variety Club Board, Volunteers, and everyone who contributed their time, talent, and energy.
The Telethon is truly a team effort on all ends and we would like to sincerely thank our other media partners, sponsors and everyone who helped make the 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon a success.
