What can I say - I am a child of the '70s, and Bob McGrath and the Sesame Street cast were like extended, televised family in those early years.

Bob, now 79, is still busy with Sesame Street and a host of other projects, but every year, he takes time out to travel to B.C. for the annual Show of Hearts Telethon for Variety - the Children's

Charity, an organization that helps more than 1,000 B.C. kids each year, whether they are struggling with disabilities or life-threatening illnesses. Last year, 70 Burnaby kids and four organizations got help from Variety, and since 1965, the charity has raised more than $155 million in B.C. alone.

I had the chance to chat with Bob about the telethon, his latest endeavours and Variety's interesting history. Here's an abridged version of our conversation.

Jennifer: First of all, as a huge childhood Sesame Street fan, I have to say I'm honoured to be conducting this interview.

Bob: Well, thank you.

J: What have you been up to these years?

B: We're starting our 43rd year of Sesame Street. It started in '69. There have been some major changes in the show. We used to do 126 shows a year. We're down to 26 now. The show has taken a very different turn because audiences have gotten much younger. It used to be primarily for four-or five-and six-year-olds. Now, our target audience now is pretty much zero to three. . I am still on the show. . I'm in the middle of doing a whole series of digital e-books for Random House and Sesame Street and my first set of apps.

J: Are you in New Jersey now?

B: I'm in Teaneck, New Jersey, which is 20 minutes outside of Manhattan. Do you know Manhattan at all?

J: Oh yeah, I love New York.

B: I love New York, too. I'm a country boy that loves the city.

J: How did you get involved with Variety?

B: (Sesame Street) had been on for a few years, so I had exposure, and the folks in Vancouver knew me from that. I think I've been there almost every year. I think this is my 34th or 35th year. That's how I hooked up originally, and you get hooked on Variety very easily, quite frankly.

J: How did the organization start?

B: A child was left in 1928 in the Sheridan Theatre in Pittsburgh. When the manager was closing up, he noticed this baby wrapped up and a note on her blanket that read: "Please take care of my baby, her name's Catherine. I can no longer take care of her. I've always heard of the goodness of show business people, and I pray to God you will look after her." And it was signed "a heartbroken mother."

So he, along with his other colleagues in his theatre business, become her godparents. They took responsibility for caring for her and her education while growing up.

It's an auspicious opening for the beginning of Variety, because they open their hearts to this little girl, called Catherine, and it's kind of wonderful all these years later, they've continued this legacy. . Fifty-four years later, there are 50 chapters all around the world in 14 countries. Since (the '20s), they've raised over a billion dollars worldwide for children.

J: Of all the children you've met over the years that have been helped by Variety, are there any stories that really stick out for you?

B: There are a lot of them. . There was a little girl called Heidi, I think it was four years ago, and she desperately wanted to be able to ride a bike just to be like every other kid. . Then the magic moment came, and the balloons came down, and the confetti went up and the whole thing. They rolled out this specially made bike for her. These gigantic elephant tears just came down her face, and everybody in the studio was in tears, and I bet half the province was as well. And she just couldn't believe she had been given this specialized bike..

That was a major happy one, and there were some tremendously sad ones. . There was a beautiful girl, Samantha Iverson, she was a beautiful 17-year-old girl, and she had cancer.. Her special thing was she was treated to a slumber party with all her friends at River Rock in the presidential suite. She was driven away in a limo, and her favourite group gave a private concert for her. . She went home, got her driver's licence and a summer job. Severe complications set in with cancer, and she passed away in January of 2008. And - we were devastated. [Bob chokes up.] It brings tears to my eyes.

J: What would you say to the readers to encourage them to watch the telethon and donate to the cause?

B: It's a tremendous show, and one of the great benefits of this show over the years is that kids that were four, five or six years old, watching with their parents have grown up understanding what it means to be aware of the need of others.

That's one of the things that makes British Columbia a really incredible province. I really think it's special place. People are tuned in, and they're sensitive to the needs of others. This is passed down from generation to generation. .

It's also made the lives of children and adults infinitely better than it would have been without their help. . Plus, giving so much special equipment like these bikes, and special equipment that makes it possible for a child to speak for the first time, they can walk for the first time, they can stand upright for the first time in their lives and look at their friends eye-to-eye instead of lying down or being in wheelchair.

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The Show of Hearts Telethon is on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. and Sunday Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. on Global TV. For more information, go to variety.bc.ca.