Variety – The Children’s Charity Supports Crosswinds Youth Services With Donation

By  //  July 1, 2015

bringing children real, tangible help

Alison Malone, Richard Goldstein, Roland Acosta, Greg Crews, Robert Winters, Jim Handley, Jan Lokay and Wayne Justice.
Crosswinds Youth Services based in Cocoa received a $3,000 donation from Variety – the children’s charity. Above, left to right, is Alison Malone, Richard Goldstein, Roland Acosta, Greg Crews, Robert Winters, Jim Handley, Jan Lokay and Wayne Justice. (SpaceCoastDaily.com image)

BREVARD COUNTY, COCOA, FLORIDA – Crosswinds Youth Services based in Cocoa received a $3,000 donation from Variety – the children’s charity.

Variety board members Roland Acosta and Robert Winters, along with fundraising director Richard Goldstein, made the official presentation at Crosswinds headquarters in Cocoa on Wednesday.

“We are very grateful to the leadership of Variety for this donation,” said Jan Lokay, President and CEO of Crosswinds. “This donation will directly benefit the 3,000 young people which Crosswinds will serve this year.”

The U.S. chapters of Variety – the Children’s Charity are a multi-million dollar philanthropic organization with locations throughout the United States.

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“We are very grateful to the leadership of Variety for this donation,” said Jan Lokay, President and CEO of Crosswinds. “This donation will directly benefit the 3,000 young people which Crosswinds will serve this year.”

Starting with a baby left on the doorsteps of a movie theater in 1928, Variety has continued to be a group of local business men and women, many of whom hail from the theater and movie business, reaching out to children in need.

Today, through the efforts of it’s enthusiastic volunteers and generous corporate contributors, Variety remains true to its heritage by bringing children real, tangible help.

“We immediately recognized how much Crosswinds has done, and will do for youth in need, and we are very happy to be able to make this donation,” said Goldstein.

Variety’s National Mobility Program provides much needed assistance to children with mobility concerns. Over the years, Variety has found that these children desperately want to be active members of their communities. But they need what most people take for granted: access.

For children with disabilities, this means having the freedom to go where they want to, either on their own, or if they need assistance, reducing the impact they make on those helping them. With the advent of many new mobility technologies, this access is becoming available to more and more children.

The goal of Variety’s Mobility Program is to see that they get it.

ABOVE VIDEO: In addition to helping runaways, the Crosswinds shelter houses children removed from abusive home environments by the Florida Department of Children and Families, and youths having difficulties at home and needing a cooling-off period while counseling resolves family issues.

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED

Crosswinds Youth Services creates opportunities for young people to succeed, and the organization’s primary goal is to help young people strengthen skills, develop leadership abilities, and reach their full potential.

Crosswinds began in the 1970’s with a group of concerned community leaders who came together to discuss how Brevard County, Florida could respond to the increasing number of runaway and homeless youth in the community.

Judge Clarence Johnson and Dr. Robert E. Lehton, two of the founders of Crosswinds, in front of the new shelter. (Image for Space Coast Medicine & Active Living)
Judge Clarence Johnson and Dr. Robert E. Lehton, two of the founders of Crosswinds, in front of the new shelter. (Image for Space Coast Medicine & Active Living)

The tragic results of not helping these young people had become apparent when several graves were unearthed in the county. These graves contained the bodies of children who had run away from home and had been murdered.

The initial group of community leaders responding to this terrible tragedy included judges, a county commissioner, and Dr. Robert Lehton, a psychologist, who brought to the table his experience counseling runaway youth and establishing the first youth shelter in the state of Louisiana.

Dr. Lehton is the Past Chair of Crosswinds’ Board of Directors, and the long-standing volunteer for whom Crosswinds’ shelter facility is now named.

Out of the efforts of this group of volunteers, the organization now known as Crosswinds opened an emergency youth shelter in 1974.

Over the years, Crosswinds has grown to include a wide range of programs and services for young people and their families.

VIDEO: Crosswinds Youth Services Assist Youth To Reach Their PotentialRelated Story:
VIDEO: Crosswinds Youth Services Assist Youth To Reach Their Potential

In early 2002, Crosswinds opened a new and expanded emergency shelter in Cocoa, Florida, moving the program from Merritt Island, where it had been located for nearly 30 years.

Crosswinds administrative offices and other programs were also consolidated on the Cocoa campus to maximize resources and provide better accessibility to services for youth, families, law enforcement and other community organizations.

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LEFT TO RIGHT: Richard Goldstein, Robert Winters and Roland Acosta of Variety - the children's charity. (SpaceCoastDaily.com image)
LEFT TO RIGHT: Richard Goldstein, Robert Winters and Roland Acosta of Variety – the children’s charity. (SpaceCoastDaily.com image)