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FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1990

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VCR in his room and get
John Wayne films. The kid
was in his glory."
Meisel, an insurance man,
joined the Variety Club 10
years ago. Entertainment
columnist Shirley Eder and
board member Les Lee
Roland were two of the first
women to join nine years
ago.
"Once I saw the children
and saw all the work that
they did for the children, I
was terribly moved," Roland
said.
"Instead of all of the
money raised going into
research and development,
we get to see the results
right away. One of the first
girls I met was given a pro-
sthetic hand by the Detroit
Variety Club. Now she's
engaged, and she wears her
engagement ring on her pro-
sthesis. I get goose bumps
when I think about it."
Walters, a health and
beauty aids salesman, joined
the tent nine years ago.
"Bruce Rosen, president of
the board of trustees, took
me on a tour of Children's
Hospital. When I saw the
little babies, strapped to
boards and on oxygen, my
heart just broke. I
automatically wanted to do
something for the kids,"
Walters said.
One of the grandfathers of
the organization is interna-
tional ambassador Milt Lon-
don, who joined 50 years ago.
"My father and uncle
were charter members of the
Detroit Variety Club," he
said. "I was involved with it
as a youngster. My dad took
me to the different affairs.
It's the most satisfying thing
I do."
Flight attendants from
Eastern Airlines, calling
themselves the Silverliners,
sponsor a gin tournament
each year with a percentage
of each card going to Varie-
ty.
"We measure a lot of the
things we do by prostheses —
those artificial limbs.
Myoelectric Center sponsors
about a hand each year. A
hand costs approximately
$6,000, and then whatever
the ongoing costs are after
that we take care of — for the
kids.
"The Silverliners kind of
devote themselves with their
gin tournament and raise
enough money to put a hand
on a kid and know who the
kid is; they can say, 'that's
our kid,' " Meisel said.
Meisel and other Variety
members frequently visit
children at the Myoelectric
Center. Variety also pays
the salaries of a social
worker and a therapist. The

Honey Friedman:
Executive director

children come for regular
treatment. "We see them at
our social events infrequent-
ly, but they'll come," Meisel
said. "All of them can't do it;
they can't face the public."
In addition to monthly
luncheons, the Detroit
Variety Club raises money
with its Variety Club Lot-
tery Calendar, sold
throughout the United
States. Walters heads the
calendar sales. Each day a

"It's the most
satisfying thing I
do; it's more
satisfying than
making money."
Milt London

number is drawn and $50 is
awarded. Every month, a
number is drawn and the
winner receives $500, and
once a year, $5,000 is
awarded to a lucky number.
"We're going to start our
fourth year. We started out
with 1,000 calendars sold a
year. Now, more than 2,000
calendars are sold each
year," Walters said.
"Hopefully, this year we're
going to raise a profit of
$30,000. After the draw, the
ticket goes back, so you can
win more than once."
Walters' wife, Elizabeth,

along with William Wolf,
Lois Shaevsky and Dee
Shapiro, co-chaired the
Variety Club's "Lights .. .
Camera . . . Auction . . ."last
year.
The club wrote to TV and
movie stars all over the
country, asking them for a
small memento to auction
off. In one night the club
raised more than $56,000.
Bob Hope, Paul Newman
and Joanne Woodward all
sent personal mementos.
Hulk Hogan sent a pair of
his yellow wrestling shoes.
Last July, Variety spon-
sored a picnic for the chil-
dren of the Myoelectric
Center.
"I was sitting and talking
to Milt London at a picnic
bench," Meisel said. "We
were chatting with a parent,
and a polite little girl comes
up and starts fidgeting. She
didn't want to bother
anybody, but she wanted to
make herself known. The
mother looked at her and —
almost without interruption
— continues talking to us,her
fumbles through her purse,
and without looking, turns
the little girl around, goes to
her back pack, takes out a
battery that's used to control
her arm, replaces it with a
new rechargeable battery,
and the kid runs back off to
play, as normal and as
natural as can be." ❑