“TRICK-or-TREAT for UNICEF”
I AM SURE “BABY BOOMERS” remember “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” boxes that our parents gave us to collect change, from the homes we visited on Halloween, to be given to the project being sponsored that year. Yes, they wanted to support UNICEF; but, I think it was to ease the guilt of letting us go through the neighborhood begging for candy!
Thank goodness they felt that guilt … it instilled in me, and many others, that helping others through giving was a good thing. It planted the seed of volunteering in my heart. I knew I might not always be able to give money for causes that were important to me, but I could and would give my time and my talents.
Over the years, I have volunteered for many causes - our local museum, library, schools (public and private), nursing home through gardening, caring for a plot of roses in our city park, and through many functions connected to our church. My plate has always been full. When thinking about Halloween and the days of collecting for UNICEF, I realized I had not done much for this group in several years. I naturally went to their web site UNICEF. I was amazed at what I found. I read and read.
NEW YORK, 27 October 2003 - Good ideas often have humble beginnings. Such is the story of “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF,” which started in 1950 when a group of young trick-or-treaters went door-to-door on Halloween with their pastor in Philadelphia. At each door, they not only opened their bags for candy, but held out empty milk cartons to collect coins for children in need overseas. They collected $17 and sent it to UNICEF. The result was much bigger than those children ever imagined.
And that’s how it started …
I hope kids are still doing this as they make the rounds tomorrow - in groups with parental supervision, only in their own neighborhood, in safe costumes before dark. Or at an organized event without the emphasis on “getting” but “giving”.
UNICEF, Volunteering, Halloween, pumpkins, holidays, giving, “trick-or-treat”, children, “baby boomers”
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