Halloween is full of treats—and the occasional trick. But for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a humanitarian organization, the real treat is supporting kids in need. Every year, UNICEF organizes an event called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. The event turns 75 this year, with nearly $200 million raised in that time.
The event began in 1950, when a couple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, invited kids in their neighborhood to turn trick-or-treating into a charity event. They passed out empty milk cartons for kids to collect coins in while trick-or-treating. They raised $17.
LONG HISTORY Costumed kids trick-or-treat for UNICEF in 1972.
COURTESY UNICEF USASeventy-five years later, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is the longest-running youth-engagement campaign in the United States. (The milk cartons have also gotten an upgrade: These days, UNICEF hands out small orange boxes for coin collection.) There are lots of ways to help. Families can order coin collection boxes online. Schools and other groups can organize online fundraisers.
After Halloween, UNICEF sends the money wherever kids need it most. It might support clean-water projects. It might support education and wellness programs. Shelley Diamond, UNICEF USA’s chief marketing officer, encourages kids to get involved. “The most powerful thing is to think about a kid just like you,” Diamond told TFK. “Just think, ‘There’s a child who looks like me, who loves the same things I do, who wants to play sports, who wants to learn.’ This little orange box means you can change that child’s life.”
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