The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF story
In 1947, less than a year after UNICEF's founding, a Pennsylvania minister named Reverend Clyde Allison and his wife Mary Emma were handing out treats to an endless parade of trick-or-treaters. The spectacle triggered conflicting emotions in the couple. Mary Emma turned to her husband and said: "It's too bad we can't turn this into something good."
Clyde replied: "We can."
© U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Mary Emma Allison with her 3 children, Jean, Monroe, and Mickey.
Eventually, the Allison's children, friends, and fellow congregation members began going door to door, collecting coins for UNICEF in hand-painted milk cartons. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF was born.
The activity was a hit—a big one. The Allisons joined forces with UNICEF staff to spread the word about this important new campaign. School groups, police and fire departments, and service organizations like Kiwanis International worked together to ensure that collection efforts covered entire towns. Celebrities and the media did a lot to boost the program's growth, too.
By 1960, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF activities had spread far beyond U.S. borders to a diverse group of countries including Canada, France, Haiti, Iceland, Japan, and Spain.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy noted that UNICEF had caught the imagination of the nation's children and urged all fellow citizens, young and old, to support UNICEF generously.
And in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation designating Halloween as National UNICEF Day.
Those who grow up Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF have vivid memories of childhood Halloweens: the sound of change going "shwump shwump shwump" inside TOT collection boxes; costumed friends on crowded stoops chiming "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!"; the excitement of counting up coins at the end of the night, knowing the money will help kids in faraway countries.
To date, the campaign has raised over $164 million for UNICEF's lifesaving programs. And as long as there is work to be done on behalf of their peers in developing countries, America's children will make sure that the campaign that empowers, educates, and inspires them is going strong.
Make a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF donation online and help America's kids help kids the world over.
