Trick or treat with UNICEF and help vaccine outreach

This Halloween season, UNICEF’s iconic trick-or-treat buckets will be filled on behalf of the global vaccine push, with the goal of procuring and distributing 1.4 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to 130 countries around the world.

The “Trick or Treat for Unicef” tradition — in which kids use the door-to-door nature of trick or treating to collect both candy and money for charitable use — started in 1950 and has since raised millions of dollars to support children’s health and wellness around the world. Donations each year fund different campaigns alongside the year-round work of UNICEF, which supports global childhood health programs and education and safety efforts, and provides humanitarian relief. Building on last year’s fundraising for COVID-19 support, 2021 donations will go specifically toward COVID vaccinations for eligible healthcare workers, at-risk adults, and other communities around the world.

Participants still aren’t using the stalwart orange buckets, however, as the UN agency continues with exclusively virtual fundraising platforms that began last year. Instead of going door-to-door, trick-or-treaters can create personal donation links online to fill their digital collection boxes.

All donations from this season’s fundraisers will go to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (also known as ACT-A). It’s a collaboration between international health organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization to increase global access to COVID-19 resources. UNICEF is responsible for one-fifth of the funds — about $969 million — that support the delivery of vaccines, diagnostic tests and oxygen tanks, and provide other support to health workers around the world.

As the weekend approaches, it’s not too late to spruce up your Halloween costumes and join the (digital) fundraising efforts.

Start your own fundraiser

One benefit of virtual fundraising is that more people can join in the Halloween festivities this year, whether as individuals, families, or even on behalf of an organization.

To start a digital fundraiser, go to UNICEF’s website, where you can set a monetary goal and time limit, add your name and a personal message, and then wait for UNICEF to email you a personalized donation link to share online with friends and family. Heads up, children must be 13 years or older to make a campaign.

Credit: Screengrab: unicef

Donation pages will remain up past Halloween, so don’t worry if you haven’t made or shared your link yet. All donations made before Nov. 14 will go to the ACT-A campaign’s vaccine efforts. Any donations made after this Halloween season will go toward UNICEF’s year-round health and education work.

Donate to other campaigns

Can’t start your own collection? You can still spread your money around to others. It costs just $37 to distribute 20 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (that’s full vaccination for 10 people).

If you’d like to ensure that your donations go specifically toward COVID-19 vaccines, make a donation to UNICEF and ACT-A using this form.

You can also donate to the campaign through other philanthropic organizations, like your local Key Club chapter, but those donations will be used for a wide range of programming beyond COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

If you have any issues with your campaign or donating to other digital collection boxes, call 1-(800)-FOR-KIDS.

Join other digital activities

Beyond virtual fundraising, UNICEF has also created interactive programming for children that can still benefit global health initiatives and support Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.

Kid Power! is an interactive online platform designed by the organization to get kids up and moving. Each daily activity (called Power Ups!) completed by a child earns them coins, which are donated back to the digital collection boxes of UNICEF’s campaigns. They also unlock more interactive rewards for kids.

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Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is also participating in this year’s virtual Wonderama Halloween Parade, a seasonal event hosted by NYC-based children’s TV show Wonderama, on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. EST. The event will be live streamed and will feature opportunities to support the Halloween campaign. Parents will have access to a live link to view the parade on the day of the event — just refresh the event homepage to get access to the stream.