It might be too late to order the signature orange collection boxes of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, an annual drive to raise funds for needy children worldwide — but you can still participate. The campaign’s Web site has printable labels designed to turn any can into an official UNICEF collection canister.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is an easy way to teach kids — and adults handing out candy who might have some spare change — a charitable lifestyle.
The program was founded in 1957 by Philadelphia kids who collected $17 in decorated milk cartons to help children left vulnerable by World War II. Ten years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed Oct. 31 to be UNICEF Day. I remember my mother and older brothers talking about the program and the mark it had made on their lives.
Motivated by the devastating South Asia tsunami of 2004, U.S. kids raise $10 million on top of the $5 million they already raised through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. A year later, for the first time in history, UNICEF was asked to help kids in the U.S. Fifty percent of all Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF donations were dedicated to Hurricane Katrina relief.
The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Web site — http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat — also offers safety tips for Halloween and guidance for those new to asking for donations.
