The £22,000 donation has been made possible as Variety is one of the beneficiaries of the Leeds Building Society ‘Your Interest in Theirs’ scheme. This works by members agreeing to forego up to 99p of their interest each year and this money is then split equally between the Society’s four charity partners: Variety, the Children’s Charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Age UK and Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation. Leeds Building Society also donates 1% of the average balance in all Caring Saver Accounts which is shared equally between its four charity partners.

Peter Hill, Leeds Building Society’s Chief Executive, presented the £22,000 donation to Mike Haszko, Variety’s Interim Head of Fundraising, at half time during the match at Headingley Carnegie Stadium. Also receiving the donation was Jacqueline Columbine, Miss Leeds, who accepted the cheque on the charity’s behalf.

Jacquie won her Miss Leeds title at the age of 18 years old. She won a place in the Grand Final of Miss Dance of Great Britain 2012 and played a small role in a BBC1 Period Drama Series. The Miss England organisation has supported Variety for many years and in that time the contestants have raised £250,000 for the charity.

Variety, the Children’s Charity, helps to meet the special needs of children who are sick, disabled and disadvantaged; they do this by providing Sunshine coaches, electric wheelchairs, special equipment and sensory toys as well giving thousands of children the opportunity to experience memorable days out. Variety has been helping children throughout the UK since 1949.

Peter Hill , Jacqueline Columbine (Miss Leeds) and Mike Haszko