On Saturday, March 21st and Sunday, March 22nd we kindly encourage the community to help Variety Club Tent #7 with their mission to support Golisano Children’s Hospital, the Variety Dr. Robert Warner Rehabilitation Center, and many other Children’s Charities.

Buffalo, NY (varietybuffalo.org) We are excited to announce The 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon, serving and helping children and their families who need us the most right here in our hometown! Variety is proud to be the longest running locally produced Telethon in the United States.

The 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon will once again originate from the Variety Club Headquarters located at 6114 Broadway in Lancaster, New York.

The Telethon will air on WGRZ-TV Channel 2 from 6pm – 11pm Saturday, March 21st, 2026. The presentation will also be streamed LIVE at www.wgrz.com.

The Sunday telecast will air from 10am – 8pm LIVE on WBBZ-TV-5, Your Hometown MeTV Station, Channel 67.1 on-air & DirecTV. The Sunday presentation will be streamed LIVE on the Variety Club of Buffalo Facebook page.

For 2026, we are excited to showcase many talented personalities from Channel 2, including Melissa Holmes, Pete Gallivan, Patrick Hammer, Courtney Cortright, Claudine Ewing, Dan Russell, Scott Levin, and Mary Alice Demler. Buffalo Bills linebacker and hometown kid, #44 “Buffalo Joe” Andreessen and Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame legend; Darryl Talley will join us along with Shredd and Ragan from 97 Rock. In addition, Bishop Darius Pridgen from True Bethel will join attorney Paul Cambria to assist in making the phones ring.

On Sunday, over a dozen personalities from area radio stations join Channel 5 hosts that will include Ron Dombrowski, Karyn Reece, Catherine Miller, and Veteran Terry McGuire. WUFO pm radio, 1080 AM and Power 96.5FM will simulcast the 6pm-8pm portion of the show.

Musical artists scheduled to appear are singer Sydney Sterlace (who recently appeared on the NBC show “The Voice”), saxophonist Will Holton, the Hit N’ Run Band, Captain Tom and the Hooligans Polka Band, Ramblin’ Lou Family Band, Soleturn, and Taylor Made Jazz. Other highlights will include youth singing groups from area middle and high schools, and a special Children’s Choir from area churches, plus many other incredible talents coming together as a community to raise funds for the kids that need us the most.

The Variety Kids Telethon Credit Card Premiums will be bigger and better than ever this year, with incentives from area businesses to perk our donors who make a donation using their Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover Card. One of those perks is the Delta Sonic Coupon Book, currently available for $5 now through the Telethon with over $450 in coupons. Information on all the premiums is available at VarietyBuffalo.org.

The Variety Club of Buffalo is thankful for the support given from the team at Golisano Children’s Hospital, and the Variety Tent #7 Dr. Robert Warner Rehabilitation Center. We also thank WGRZ TV 2 General Manager Mark Manders for his support, along with WBBZ TV 5 General Manager Chris Musial and owner Phil Arno, and the teams from each station who come together with NABET engineers, Hale Northeastern, Indigo, and Jim and Dave Productions.

We are thrilled to announce Sully Mettille as the Celebrity Child, Kathy Kaminski will serve as the Telethon Chair, Susan Grelick as the co-chair and Mr. Russell Salvatore will serve as the Honorary Chair.

The Variety Kids Telethon has continued because of the support from tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers who tune in and pledge their support each year, along with business partners who participate in our “Corporate Match.”

Telethon proceeds benefit dozens of local children’s non profits right here in Western New York, in addition to the Variety Tent #7/Robert Warner MD Rehabilitation Center at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Our Variety Kids Telethon raised over One MILLION Dollars in 2025.

For the 64th Annual Variety Kids Telethon we will come together and celebrate “Hearts United for Children”. We look forward to having a wonderful celebration filled with memories, stories and focusing on the future!

YOU are the reason why we have been able to impact thousands of children living in our community. It’s truly an honor to be a part of Buffalo & Western New York.

On behalf of all of us at Variety and the children of WNY that we serve, we would like to say THANK YOU for your support for over 60+ years and hope you will be a part of a tradition that supports a great cause, our children.

Look for more details and announcements regarding the 2026 Telethon by visiting varietybuffalo.org.