My UNICEF Experience

So many years ago, I heard about UNICEF way more than I do today.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. It is one of the members of the United Nations Development Group and its Executive Committee.

Since 1950, when a group of children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, donated $17 they received on Halloween to help post-World War II victims, the Trick-or-Treat UNICEF box has become a tradition in North America during the haunting season. These small orange boxes are handed to children at schools and at various locations (such as Hallmark Gold Crown Stores) prior to October 31. To date, the box has collected approximately $91 million (CAD) in Canada and over $132 million (USD) in the USA.

I remember those little orange boxes and going out on Halloween getting all my treats and holding out the orange box for just a few pennies, all those pennies added up, they helped so many people.



Toys For Tots seems to be the charity of choice in schools and offices these days, I see donation boxes everywhere and have heard my nieces and nephews talk about it going on in their schools. Again a wonderful charity.

The mission of Toys For Tots "is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted."
The stated goal is to "deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens."

I think both charities are so wonderful, any charity. A penny may not be a big deal, but a penny from so many children all over the world adds up and these children make a difference. One more gift to buy for Toys For Tots adds up in those Christmas sacks. It's just the best feeling in the world to give something to someone in need, especially at this time of the year. Even your family, friends and neighbors, remember just the smallest good deed goes a long way.

As a kid I knew that the money was going to the poor, the less fortunate, but I didn't see any of that close up, I heard, I saw short films about it but I lived in my bubble, I had so much, rich and spoiled compared to the children that needed our pennies, but I never thought about them in any real way, they were just poor, I never stopped and thought about what poor truly meant for these people.

When I was in my 20s, UNICEF was still a big charity going on in a lot of the offices I worked in. One year I volunteered at my job to work the program, sending out flyers to co-workers, collecting what they had collected in their little orange boxes and pooling it together with the many other orange boxes from wonderful giving people, donating just a little to make a big difference. It felt good helping out, but the best part of it was visiting a senior citizens home in Manhattan. We were going there during lunch time and at first I was a little uncomfortable, what do I talk to these people about. Not normally at a loss for words, but what would I say to these strangers, what could I bring to the table.

I ended up sitting next to an old man who was all alone, he looked so sad. The wrinkles on his face made his face look like a caricature drawing. I've looked at the picture many times, tracing the wrinkles with my finger, realizing each one was a mark from his life, good and bad, lines from smiling by his mouth, lines from worrying on his forehead and the best wrinkles on his eye brows from the times he opened his eyes in wonder to look upon something wonderful, that's what I see in his face.

He too felt a little uncomfortable that day, probably thinking what does girl want with me, a photo opportunity? What will I say to her? I didn't have anything to offer him that day but my time and a greeting. The camera man wasn't following me, but when this man smiled just because I said hello and asked him if he was enjoying his soup, the photographer saw magic and captured this moment. Even the director of the home (standing to the left of us in the picture) had to smile because this man was happy. I got through, with a smile and a hello, I gave this man something, I brought something to the table that day!

Look at this man's face above. He lived a long life, I'm sure he worked hard and provided for a family, who again, I don't know, may or may not have come to visit him, maybe they were all gone at that time. But there are those out there who do help, who give their money and more, their time, their love.

Remember those who are less fortunate at this time of year, not just the ones without money and things, remember the ones without family and friends, the ones who find the holidays so difficult, only remembering what they don't have, what they may have lost, or just depressed at this time of the year and need just a friendly hello, it can make a difference. Lift up your head and say hello to the harried shopper next to you in line, just hello, it goes a long way. That person may get home at the end of the day facing more stress and for a moment will smile, remembering that stranger who took the time to just say hello.

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson