Midwest Regional Office :: Regional Offices :: About Us :: U.S. Fund for UNICEF

A boy in Thailand | Photo © UNICEF/HQ05-1651/Palani Mohan

500 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60611
312.222.8900
312.222.8901 (fax)

STAFF | EVENTS | NEWS | ACCELERATED CHILD SURVIVAL
VOLUNTEER | BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Staff

Casey Marsh, Director
Jessica Dolan, Major Gifts Officer
Laura Geiger, Development Officer
Elisabeth Kasdorf, Development Coordinator

The Midwest Region extends a special thank you to the extraordinary volunteer leaders who serve on our Board of Directors, Board Emeriti and President’s Council.

Upcoming Events

Message of Hope 2010

The Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will hold the annual Message of Hope gala at the InterContinental Hotel Chicago on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 6:30 pm to 11:00 pm.

Last year, more than 300 guests enjoyed an evening of fine dining and dancing to benefit UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa. Dance Xplosion, a youth dance troupe from Bloomingdale, Illinois, energized the crowd with an inspirational performance and later in the evening Chicago band Entourage had the guests on the dance floor. UNICEF Ambassador and actress Lucy Liu moved the crowd with a speech about her connection to UNICEF. The event was sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Amy Robbins, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Energy BBDO, Kirkland & Ellis, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Weeden & Co., LP, and many more. Message of Hope 2009 netted $470,000 for UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative (ACS).

All event proceeds from Message of Hope 2010 will benefit UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative (ACS). ACS goes beyond previous notions of what is possible, aiming to save 3.2 million children and build healthcare delivery systems in 25 sub–Saharan African countries. Since the launch of UNICEF’s ACS, tremendous gains have been made in reducing the health risks facing children and their mothers all over the world. To date, the Midwest Region has raised $5.4 million to support ACS with a goal of $6.5 million by June 2010.

Join us on Saturday, April 17th as we spread a Message of Hope to children in sub–Saharan Africa and raise funds for this impactful initiative. Message of Hope 2010 brings a sense of excitement as we near the end of our fundraising campaign for Accelerated Child Survival.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for $5,000 and above, tables of 10 are available for $3,500 and above, and individual tickets are available for $350 and above. Please contact Elisabeth Kasdorf by calling 312-222-8900 x. 12 or email ekasdorf@unicefusa.org to discuss sponsorship opportunities, or to purchase a table or tickets.

Stay tuned for further updates on Message of Hope 2010!

News and Past Events

Wine, Women & Shoes — Chicago 2009

On Thursday, October 1, 2009 the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF held the fourth annual Wine, Women & Shoes event at the River East Art Center. The event, co–chaired by Judy Fitzgerald, long-time UNICEF volunteer and Camille Julmy, Midwest President’s Council Member, raised over $112,000 for Accelerated Child Survival, helping in UNICEF’s efforts to reduce the number of daily preventable deaths of children from 24,000 to zero.

Over 600 guests joined the festivities for a night of fun, fashion and fine wine while raising money for UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative. Prominent Chicago event designer Tom Kehoe created a bold and fun setting, inspired by the work of UNICEF. Guests perused designer shoes, handbags, jewelry and accessories offered by seven different local and national boutiques, who donated 20% of their proceeds from the evening to benefit UNICEF. Guests also enjoyed wine tastings from some of the country’s finest vintners including Alexander Valley Vineyards, Gabrielle Collection, and Schweiger Vineyards and sampled delicious hors d’oeuvres from Blue Plate Catering. Celebrity guests included Emmanuel Nony, restaurateur and owner of Sepia restaurant, Maria Pinto, prominent Chicago fashion designer, Sarah Schulte, reporter for ABC 7 and Natalie Martinez, reporter for NBC 5.

Throughout the evening, guests bid on fantastic items in the silent auction and purchased raffle tickets for their chance to win one of five exciting prizes including a trip to Australia; six treatments at Kaya Day Spa in Chicago; an in–home wine tasting party for 12 people; $250 for shoe shopping at Aberle in Chicago; and a one–of–a–kind painting by local Chicago artist Judy Fitzgerald.

At the evening’s presentation, Casey Marsh, Director of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Midwest Regional office, spoke about UNICEF’s mission to achieve zero. “Proceeds from events like Wine, Women & Shoes have helped UNICEF reduce the number of preventable child deaths each day from 25,000 to 24,000. This event is a celebration of that accomplishment and Chicago’s commitment to bringing that number to zero.” Wine, Women & Shoes — Chicago 2009 raised over $112,000 for Accelerated Child Survival and helped to spread the message to “Believe in Zero.”

Thanks to all of our guests and supporters as well as to our wonderful volunteers and leaders on the host and executive committees who truly made this event possible. We would also like to give a special mention to our generous sponsors, including Akzo Nobel, Arista Foods, Energy BBDO, Joseph Silich, JSH&A, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Marla Kreindler and Rafer Caudill, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, OUR BIG SPLASH LLC, Psyche Manufactory, Topel Forman, U.S. Equities Realty, the Warranty Group, Winston & Strawn and VizionCore.

AIDS Run & Walk Chicago 2009

On Saturday, October 3, 2009 the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Midwest Region walked with supporters as Team UNICEF in the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago. An annual event hosted by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the AIDS Run & Walk raises funds for and awareness of HIV/AIDS. Walkers on Team UNICEF showed their support for UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative (ACS), which includes life–saving interventions such as anti–retrovirals for children with HIV/AIDS in sub–Saharan Africa. As a member of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s CommunityDirect program, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF received 100% of the funds raised by Team UNICEF to use for ACS! Team UNICEF raised $1,780 for the Accelerated Child Survival Initiative, a UNICEF program that helps us in our mission to reduce the number of children who die each day of preventable causes from 24,000 to zero.

The Accelerated Child Survival Initiative

Accelerated Child Survival (ACS) is an innovative UNICEF initiative that indentifies the weak links in impoverished countries’ healthcare cycles that conspire to endanger children’s health. UNICEF works with local and national officials to target the underlying causes of these problems, and swiftly implements integrated strategies at every level, from grassroots to governments, to remove them.

ACS takes the most effective health interventions for children, newborns and pregnant women and bundles them into integrated, cost–effective packages that include childhood immunizations, vitamin A distribution, treatment of malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS, prenatal care and support, and promotion of breastfeeding.

ACS also covers the costs of other vital supplies such as bed nets, equipment for refrigeration of medication, transportation, training and performance incentives for health staff, as well as supporting the development of health systems from the district to the national level.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Midwest Regional Office is taking the lead in raising the necessary funds to save these children’s lives. There are 800,000 children in Chicago under the age of 18, the same number of children whose lives will be saved for each of the four years of our campaign. Because every child’s life—whether in Chicago or Africa—is worth saving, the Midwest Region inaugurated our first regional campaign in January 2007 with a goal of raising $6.5 million from individual donors by June 2010 to support the Child Survival Initiative’s groundbreaking work. With less than a year left in the campaign, we have raised $5.4 million against our goal.

Donate now to support the campaign and help us reach our $6.5 million goal.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering with the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a great way to inform your community about the work UNICEF does—and to get involved in helping save children’s lives around the world. With your help, we can reduce the number of children who die each day of preventable causes from 24,000 to zero.

There are many ways that you can volunteer for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF! If you are interested in volunteering locally in your community, consider conducting a UNICEF volunteer activity from our online volunteer center. The center includes several volunteer activities and resources, such as turn–key tool kits for you to use that provide step–by–step instructions for conducting awareness-building, fundraising or advocacy activities in your community, a calendar of local events and more.

To become involved in the Chicago area, consider volunteering at one of our special events. Opportunities include everything from selling raffle tickets and greeting guests to set–up assistance and auction monitors. Participating in one of our events is the perfect opportunity for you to meet new people, have a great night out with some friends and help raise funds for UNICEF!

If you are interested in volunteering with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Midwest Region please contact Elisabeth Kasdorf at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.

Internship Opportunities
Interns in the Midwest Regional Office assist with everything from the planning of special events to research projects. Internships can be done for college course credit during summer, fall/winter and spring sessions. If interested, please forward a resume and cover letter to Elisabeth Kasdorf at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.