FAQs

Now in it’s 21st year the Variety Bikes for Kids program was the brainchild of Variety past Chair, Life Member and Ambassador Derryn Hinch.

Reflecting on how much his very first bike meant to him, under difficult financial circumstances for his family, Derryn campaigned to make sure all kids can enjoy the freedom of a bicycle.

In 2002 Derryn started a radiothon on 3AW that ran for 10 years after which the project remained as Variety - the Children's Charity annual appeal with Derryn remaining ambassador alongside Lee Hollywood Turner.

Derryn reflects

"The Variety Bikes for Kids program is the epitome of what my favourite charity does best – providing tangible equipment with a direct impact on the quality of life of local children in need. An impact that both you and I get to see firsthand. My own family struggled through hard financial times. Like all parents, my mum and dad wanted the best for me. That’s why they did everything they could to give me the joy of receiving my very first bike - something I’d always dreamed of." Derryn Hinch 

Thanks to supporters like you over 13,000 bikes have brought joy, freedom and inclusion to kids who would have otherwise missed out!

Our supplier Anaconda provides Variety with discounted bikes, helmets and locks which ensures your donation provides even more impact on our $180 bike purchase and $65 helmet and lock!

Cycling in childhood has lifelong benefits:

• Cycling is physically challenging, builds fitness and endurance and gets kids out and about enjoying the outdoors.
• Improves children's cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Cycling to school is associated with lower odds of being overweight or obese for adolescents.
• Participation in physical activity is positively related to academic performance in children.
• Adolescents who bike or walk to school watch less TV and are less likely to smoke than their peers who are driven to school. They also get more overall physical activity.

Simply click the red DONATE button at the top of this page or give us a call on (03) 8698 3900.

You can also 

1) mail a cheque made out to Variety - the Children's Charity and post to PO Box 1076, South Melbourne, Victoria 3207

2) Support someone who is fundraising by clicking here

3) Donate crypto by clicking here

Thank you for such a generous thought! Variety - the Children's Charity want to ensure the safety of our kids is paramount so we purchase brand new bikes from Anaconda that are safety checked after assembly by a mechanic.

We also have limited warehouse space so arrange for delivery of the brand-new bikes when we are holding our presentations to schools and individuals.

If you have a second hand bike you would like to donate you can contact organisations like The Bike Shed at CERES or Bikes for Humanity.

Yes! You'll receive an instant tax-deuctible receipt for all donations over $2 if you donate online.

If you donate by mail or over the phone we'll post out a receipt.

You can choose to connect your fitness app and set a k's for kids challenge, start an online page or set up a Facebook fundraiser to make a difference!

Once you've signed on you'll receive a special profile page.

Your profile page includes your personal distance tally so you can track your distance towards your target. This is a great way to keep your friends updated on your workouts!

If you track your workouts with Fitbit, MapMyFitness or Strava your distances will automatically add to your tally.

Follow these steps to track your KMs automatically:

1. Download the Fitbit, Strava or MapMyFitness app and set up your account

2. Log in to your Variety Bikes for Kids account.

3. Under the heading ‘Connect your preferred Fitness app’, click your chosen app.

4. Follow the prompts to connect your account

5. When you next work out, select ‘start your workout’ in the app on your phone. Once you end your workout, save your workout and your distance will be published to the tally on your page the following day.

If you have synced your app already but it is not working, please log in and re-connect it.

When using Fitbit, you must ‘start’ an activity and save it. Your daily steps will not automatically add to your page. If you are having issues, try syncing through BOTH your Fitbit and the Fitbit app on your smartphone.

When using MapMyFitness, you must ‘start’ your workout, ‘stop’ your workout and then ‘SAVE’ your workout.

Your tally will be updated each day with the previous day’s distances.

Remember, you can manually add your kilometres to the tally in your My Fitness Activity tab of your profile after registering. This is a great option if you’re using a pedometer or a different method of tracking your distances.

Follow these steps to manually add your KMs:

1. Log in to your account and select ‘My Fitness Activity’

2. Under ‘Add activity’, enter the date and distance

3. The number of KMs will now appear on your fundraising page!

We suggest a minimum of $245 for individual pages to raise funds for one complete bike package with bike, helmet and lock for a child who would otherwise miss out.

Why not raise the bar?
- $590 = 2 bike packages
- $735 = 3 bike packages
- $1225 = 5 bike packages


For teams, we suggest aiming high and setting your target to $2,450 for bike packages for 10 kids!

Yes! All your donors will receive an instant tax-deductible receipt for gifts over $2.

Sure can! When you register, select create or join team during the sign up process. 

Certainly! Visit our Fundraise page and scroll down to our Teams leaderboard. Type in the teams name to the search bar and click join.

If your friend has created a team, ask them to share the invite with you.

When you sign up you'll receive a unique link for your challenge page. We'll also send you an email with your link. Simply copy and paste and share with friends on email, SMS or social media. You can also use your page dashboard to share with your mates with pre-loaded text and imagery!

No, fundraising on Facebook has no fees to charities - 100% of donations go straight to Variety

To find your fundraiser on Facebook, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Facebook account.

2. Click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner if you're using a mobile device or click on the "Fundraisers" option on the left sidebar if you're using a desktop.

3. Select "Fundraisers" from the drop-down menu.

4. Under the "Fundraisers" section, you will see three tabs: "Discover," "Your Fundraisers," and "Donate."

5. Click on the "Your Fundraisers" tab. This is where all the fundraisers you've created, joined, or donated to will be listed.

6. Browse through the list to find the specific fundraiser you're looking for.

If you still can't find your fundraiser, try using the search bar at the top of the Facebook page. Type in the name of your fundraiser, and then click on the "Fundraisers" filter in the search results. This will narrow down the results to only show fundraisers, making it easier to locate yours.

Click Fundraisers?in the left menu of your News Feed on Facebook. You may need to expand the menu to find it.

Yes, if you chose to set up an online fundraising page and selected set up a Facebook fundraiser (at the end of the registration process or later by logging into your dashboard and clicking the Facebook button on your banner) all funds from Facebook will sync to your main page.

If you chose to set up a standalone Facebook fundraiser you will not have a page on this site, your fundraiser will be solely native to Facebook.

Your hard work goes straight to purchasing quality bike packages, helmets and locks for kids who would otherwise miss out on the joy and physical, mental and emotional benefits of owning their own bike.

Variety - the Children's Charity Victoria help kids who are experiencing disability, disadvantage or illness. Variety provides support to families and organisations through providing grants for a range of equipment, such as wheelchairs or all-abilities playgrounds to provide practical help to kids, schools and organisations in need. We run programs to educate and empower kids that are falling through the cracks. We give scholarships to encourage the talents of kids living with disadvantage or disability. And last but certainly not least, we hold kids’ events to bring joy, light and laughter to children in need and their families.

Variety – the Children’s Charity has a network of 40 offices in 14 countries, and many millions of individual children around the world live a better life because of the generosity of Variety’s communities of supporters.

Variety Bikes for Kids is a Variety Victoria initiative and supports local kids.

The Variety office is located at H71, 63 - 85 Turner Street, Port Melbourne.