Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Kids Share Their Stories - Inspired and inspiring kids

Allyson S. and Sarah M., Moyock Elementary School

Moyock Elementary is a school of about 500 students in rural northeastern North Carolina. Students and teachers at Moyock have been participating in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF for over ten years. Last year, students collected approximately $700 to help kids around the world.

Students raised money in many different ways. One student held a lemonade and cookie sale. Some took their boxes to sports events or church activities. Others asked their parents to take the collection box to work with them. Of course, a favorite way to collect money was by trick-or-treating! 

Classrooms created charts to show how well the students were progressing toward their goals. Teachers and students made graphs to display the weekly collection totals. Then, the coins had to be sorted, stacked, and counted. Children rolled the coins and even took a field trip to the local bank, so the cash could be deposited and one big check could be written to UNICEF for the total amount.

All the students at Moyock would like to tell people across the United States how they feel about UNICEF—"We are happy to know the money we raised is going to a good cause, and we are proud to have helped others in this way. The best part about collecting the money is knowing that it saves lives and gives people a brighter future.  That adds up to a lot of helping. UNICEF has shown kids in the U.S. that there are other kids out there who don’t have the same things that Americans may take for granted. But we also learned that we can help, and that kids can really make a difference!"

Blake McGhghy, Keokuk, Iowa

Below is the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF success story from Blake McGhghy in his own words.

"My name is Blake McGhghy, and I’m a sophomore in high school in Keokuk, Iowa.

I started a group in my community called Keokuk for Global Awareness and Aid. We are dedicated to spreading awareness about what's going on in the world and how we can all help those in need.

One of the adult administrators of our group, Julia Hays, told me about how she trick-or-treated for UNICEF when she was a kid. She said she loved hearing her box jingle with change and knowing she was helping children around the world. Julia and I decided to ask the mayor to designate an official day in our community for UNICEF. We spoke at the city council meeting, and afterward, the mayor of Keokuk agreed to sign the proclamation. Friday, October 29 officially became Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Day in Keokuk!

From here, we got the word out as much as possible. Julia spoke at the school board meeting, we reached out to schools, and many churches became involved. Many local businesses also handed out Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF boxes to customers.

On Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Day, young children and teens went from house to house yelling out, "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!" The boxes were then collected at the public library and churches around the town, and the money was counted. Our efforts raised nearly $1,300.

We feel it was a great success for our first year. A big thanks goes to all of the people of Keokuk, Iowa, who got involved. We look forward to doing bigger and better things next year!"