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For Halloween, be a Do-Gooder!
Published 10.28.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (2)
Even if your little ones are dressed like the Grim Reaper or a whiny princess, there is no reason why you can have them do some good.
UNICEF, the global organization that saves lives in 150 countries by providing clean water, nutrition, medicines, education and emergency aid, makes it quite turn-key for us parents. Here are some of the easy things you can do:
1. Collect Donations while Trick-or-Treating.
There's the famous orange UNICEF box. Make your own by downloading a canister wrapper or picking up a box at one of their retail partners.
2. Turn your Halloween Party into a fundraiser.
When you register your party at UNICEF you can download their Halloween Party Guide and other items, such as invitations, door signs, door hangers, canister wrappers and stickers. All the things you need to throw a spooktacular fundraiser.
3. Text-or-Treat this Year!
Aren't we all going green AND on our mobile phones? Well we love UNICEF's Text-or-Treat idea. This year—for the first time—you can Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF with your mobile phone! Just text the word “TOT” to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $5 donation.*
Have a happy and safe Halloween, you do-gooder!
* A one-time charge of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill. Standard messaging rates and additional fees may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Proceeds benefit the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Service is available on most carriers. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting 'STOP' to 864233.
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About this column
This is a year-round Holiday column. Kids love Holidays. As parents we have come to appreciate how Holidays seem to help structure our lives. Plus, any excuse to have fun sounds good to us!
We'll admit it, now that we're parents, we secretly look for Holidays to celebrate and between National, Secular, Unofficial and Bizarre Holidays, we think there are enough days out there to keep us inspired every week.
This column will be a place where you can get inspiration for how to enjoy time with your kids. Crafting projects and ideas will be posted on Thursdays by our brilliant contributors (see below). Other fun ideas will be posted here throughout the week as the inspiration hits us!
About our Craft Contributors
Ellen Luckett Baker is the author of the long thread, a blog about handmade goods. She has always enjoyed making things, but the flexibility of staying at home with her two daughters along with the creative inspiration they provide has led her to craft on a daily basis. Combining her love of graphic design and sewing, she has created an Etsy shop selling machine embroidery designs and sewing patterns.
Ellen lives in Atlanta with her husband and two young daughters. She holds a B.A. in Art History and a Master's of Public Administration with a focus in Non-Profit Management.
Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has continued her love of art and is now passing her creative skills on to her three children. Cindy's family and friends are the beneficiaries of her passion for fun and meaningful creative projects. Cindy's personal blog, Skip to My Lou, has taken her love of a project to new levels. Postings keep the family busy -– from testing new recipes for holiday treats to designing and building floats for a neighborhood parade to making fabric rolls to hold crayons to creating themed parties. Cindy seems to have an unending supply of ideas for gifts, parties and rainy days.
Marie LeBaron is a 30 something stay at home mom in Utah. Before life as a mother, she graduated with a teaching degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education, after which she taught four years of Kindergarten. After her first child was born, she decided to read books and sing silly songs at home. She misses the classroom, but she now gets to bring the fun and learning into her home and ours. You’ll see her kids a lot in these projects as they are her guinea pigs and for whom she's creative. You can follow more of her projects at her personal blog Make and Takes.
Brenda Ponnay is a stealthy secret agent who juggles parenthood to her adorable daughter by day and freelance graphic design by night. Whether it's painting, baking, drawing, making castles out of card board boxes or just doing the laundry with flair, Brenda Ponnay has finally discovered (at the ripe old age of thirty-six) that what really makes her happy is being creative every single day.
Brenda lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, three cats and thirty-seven pet birds. You can read about all her crazy adventures on her personal blog: Secret Agent Josephine.
Disclaimer
This column is only for entertainment purposes. Any recommendations or information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for advice by a trained professional. For a full statement of our site policies, please click here.
Comments (2):
Sallie said:
Another thing I've done for several years is trick-or-treat for canned goods. This started when my kids got to high school but still wanted to go trick-or-treating--they asked each house for a can of food, and most houses also gave them candy. Now it's grown into a church food drive with their young adult group. The group got paper bags with handles donated from a local grocery store, which they distributed with flyers last Sunday. This Sunday they'll go pick up canned goods, clothes and toiletries from the neighborhood. They always get a huge pile of donations for our local pantry.
Posted on October 28, 2008 12:06
lynne said:
What an amazing idea. I am going to find out more about this for next year.
Posted on November 5, 2008 08:38