Those little orange boxes have come a long way since the first kids Trick-or-Treated for UNICEF back in 1950.
Today’s Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program, which is one of the global nonprofit’s most well-known fundraisers, comes complete with corporate sponsors, celebrity spokespeople and community kickoff events that helped the organization pull in $5 million nationwide last year.
“The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program has undergone many changes throughout its existence,” said Charles Lyons, president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “Yet the values, commitment and passion that are at the root of the program have remained the same.”
Hallmark Gold Crown stores joined the list of UNICEF corporate sponsors this year, which also includes Pier 1 Imports. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is this year’s spokeswoman.
Originally, the fundraiser consisted of children across the country collecting change in the iconic orange boxes door-to-door on Halloween night. While the door-to-door component still exists, today the program runs through December, and children are encouraged to hold other types of creative fundraisers, such as collecting donations instead of presents at a birthday party.
Much of the fundraising today is also done through school-based programs. Locally, more than 60 schools are participating this year, said William Van Pelt, a manager with the local D.C. UNICEF office. Representatives from UNICEF hold kickoff events at the schools.
Last year, the nonprofit launched the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF challenge, a contest with multiple corporate sponsors, including Procter & Gamble, that awards the schools that raise the most money.
This year, the competition was expanded to include a category for individual children and groups of children. In addition to a $125,000 donation to UNICEF in the winners’ names, the children also win a photo appearance on the Cartoon Network.
Such high-profile corporate sponsors have helped the nonprofit raise awareness of the program, said Joy Rich, a cause-branding specialist for Pier 1 Imports, which serves as a pick-up location for the free orange boxes. The company has distributed about 300,000 of the boxes each year since 2001. Pier 1 has also been carrying UNICEF holiday cards since 1985 and this year added Pier 1 Kids, which sells children’s furniture, to the list of orange box locations.
“It was around the time that UNICEF was trying to rejuvenate the Trick-or-Treat program” that Pier 1 began carrying the boxes, Rich said. “Because we are a long-standing corporate partner we felt like it was a natural fit for us.”
