The evening of Wednesday 25th January marked the official launch of Variety BC’s Gold Heart Pin featuring C-3PO and R2-D2.
Jedi News was invited along to the event, which was hosted by Global BC’s Sophie Lui, and provided an opportunity for individuals and organisations who volunteer their time to talk about their experiences supporting the charity. Various members of the team also spoke about the work that the charity is doing to help children who have special needs, but perhaps more importantly, some of the families that have benefitted described just what Variety means to them, and I am not ashamed to admit that I had a lump in my throat at the heartwrenching stories I heard.
The 501st were also on hand to question any Rebel sympathisers, so of course yours truly was top of their wanted list, as evidenced by the pictures above.
The program also included a PSA featuring C-3PO and his counterpart, R2-D2, with the golden protocol droid explaining how by purchasing the gold heart pin, everyone can do their bit to enrich the lives and also build a better future for the children and families that need it the most.
What surprised me the most, was that despite the droids they were looking for being projected onto a screen behind them, the Sandtroopers in attendance made no attempt to detain them!
With the release of The Phantom Menace in 3D in just a few weeks, an obvious place to buy the gold heart pin featuring the two droids would seem to be at theatres across both the province and indeed the country. The sad fact is that the powers-that-be at the movie theatre chains, have decided that they will not allow the pins to be sold on their premises.
The good news is that there are plenty of other locations where you can purchase the gold heart pins and I would encourage you to pick up a couple of these, and in doing so, enable Variety to help even more children with special needs.
We just want to pass on our thanks to Chris Graham, who was responsible for organising the launch, for giving us the opportunity to get involved.