Variety – the Children’s Charity raised over $157,000 in Central Iowa during the annual Two Days of Compassion radiothon in mid-December with radio partner 92.5 KJJY. Variety’s Compassion Fund provides comfort, care and helps fulfill immediate needs and alleviates some of the stress and financial burden a family faces while their child is hospitalized, according to a news release. “Putting children and their families first is our main priority at Variety,” Kim Butler Hegedus, committee chair of Central Iowa’s Two Days of Compassion, said in a statement. “Through the radiothon and partnerships with our corporate sponsors, we come together to help a hospitalized, critically ill child by giving their families a little extra hope. Just knowing that others care about their problems gives strength to their determination to find light at the end of the tunnel.” Variety’s Compassion Fund helps families with immediate needs such as gas cards for travel, meals for parents who spend weeks at the hospital, payment of immediate bills such as phone, heat or electricity, and care for siblings when parents need to stay with their hospitalized child.