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Posted: 12:15 PM Oct 8, 2009
Trick Or Treat for UNICEF!
Halloween doesn't have to mean overdosing on candy for your kids. It can be a time to help kids in other parts of the world.
Reporter: Pat Persaud Email Address: pat.persaud@wowt.com |
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Sweeter Than Candy
As parents we love the creative and imaginary side of Halloween. It continues to be a favorite childhood rite of passage for most of our kids.
I can even remember my first Halloween costume. I was eight-years-old and it was our first year in the U.S. Friends of my parents invited my brothers and I to join them for trick or treating and the search for costumes began. We had no choice in this. My parents came home with dime store super hero costumes for my brothers and for me... Snow White! ( Oh yes they did!) That night was a memorable night.
A few years later another favorite Halloween memory... I was 12 then. I was invited to a Halloween sleepover. We didn't have costumes then but went trick or treating in our pajamas and robes (yes, we wore robes back then).
This time though, we took along a special Halloween box -- a UNICEF trick or treating box. Most people responded, slipping their change into the boxes. Some even gave us candy too! It was a fun night and also a night that we stopped to think about other children in other parts of the world who didn't have money for basic food and probably never tasted sweet candies. We felt good and proud of ourselves and the lack of a huge bag of candy didn't bother us at all!
What happened to trick or treating for UNICEF? I thought about this again when I saw the UNICEF boxes at a local Hallmark Store at 132nd & West Maple.
Store manager Amy Japp says, "Most of the corporate Hallmark stores carry the boxes and they're free."
You can also go online and order your boxes from unicefusa.org.
Seems like with all the disasters and turbulence in the world, maybe this is the time to teach our kids to reach out to the world. An easy way to do it is by kids helping kids.
The change you drop in the UNICEF boxes go to provide water, education and medicine to children. Trick or Treating for UNICEF began
59 years ago. It's still very popular on both coasts but for some reason support has dropped off in the Midwest.
My daughter will host of trick or treat for UNICEF sleepover party this year. They'll be trick or treating for both candy and UNICEF!
Can Halloween be any sweeter?
Donations are on the "honor" system. Children need to have an adult count up the donations and phone them in with a credit card. Details are available on the UNICEF Web site.
