Charlie LaVallee
For over 40 years, Charlie LaVallee has advocated for underserved and at-risk populations – especially children. He has worked to raise awareness in the community of the issues of uninsured children and adults, grieving children and their families, children with special health care needs and their families, children who have been physically and/or sexually abused and children who have experienced homelessness. He mobilizes the community around these issues creating and developing successful programs and services to serve these populations. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Variety the Children’s Charity. Variety’s mission is to provide children with disabilities with unique programs, experiences, and equipment, so they may live life to the fullest. As CEO, Charlie launched Variety’s My Bike® Program, an initiative to provide adaptive bicycles to children with disabilities, so they can experience the joy, freedom, and belonging that comes with riding a bike. Following the launch of My Bike®, Variety also created two other programs to give adaptive equipment to kids in need, including Variety’s My Stroller® Program, which provides adaptive strollers, and Variety’s My Voice® Program, which provides communication devices. Prior, he served as the Director of the Homeless Education Network (HEN). The HEN is a collaborative initiative of the Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF) and seeks to advocate and develop resources for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
