A Variety Sunshine Coach has been presented by The Bingo Association Business Development Manager Alastair Stewart, to pupils at Lawnswood school in Wolverhampton. This Sunshine Coach is the 28th donated by The Bingo Association in the past four years. Also in attendance at the presentation were representatives from nearby Mecca Bilston and Buzz Wolverhampton.

The Lawnswood Campus in Wolverhampton is home to four Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) which serve schools and the City of Wolverhampton. All four centres work with students who find mainstream schooling a challenge and provide opportunities to enable them to meet their full potential.

The new Sunshine Coach will be the second at The Lawnswood Campus, providing a vital everyday transport link for some of the most vulnerable pupils at the centre. The coach will also be used to take the pupils on educational and recreational days out, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award and National Trust visits. Providing the children with vital opportunities to connect with nature through outdoor activities, along with learning and socialising outside of the classroom environment.

Variety’s Sunshine Coaches have helped improve the lives of thousands of disabled or disadvantaged children across the UK. The coaches enable schools to take children on education and recreational days out allowing children to explore places they would otherwise never have visited. Last month, Variety donated their 5,600th Sunshine Coach in the UK.

Mrs Joanne Wood, Executive Headteacher, The Lawnswood Campus said: “The new Sunshine Coach will make a tremendous difference to the lives of our students because we can extend our range of opportunities. We already offer many enrichment activities like theatre trips and visits to places of interest. The additional vehicle will allow more children to take part. We cannot thank the Variety Club and the Bingo Association enough for supporting us and our young people.”

Charlotte Walker, Variety Regional Development Director, said: “We are delighted to donate a Sunshine Coaches today to The Lawnswood Campus, and would like to thank the Bingo Association for their huge generosity in making this a reality. These coaches help to improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged children and young people, ensuring they get the most out of school life by accessing learning and recreational facilities outside of the school environment. The support of The Bingo Association’s members and customers has directly funded the donation of 28 Sunshine Coaches in the past four years, making a real and tangible difference to thousands of disadvantaged and disabled children around the UK.”

Alastair Stewart, Business Development Manager, Bingo Association said: “I would like to thank the members, like Mecca and Buzz Bingo, who are present today, for the incredible support and generosity of their customers and staff. Customers from more than 340 bingo clubs across the UK have made this very worthy donation of a Sunshine Coach possible. We have now raised over £1.3 million for Variety in the past four years – a truly incredible amount – and it is brilliant to see that this has such a fantastic, direct impact on improving the lives of thousands of sick and disadvantaged children around the UK.”