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

STAFF | EVENTS |NEWS
VOLUNTEER | BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Staff

Casey Marsh, Managing Director
Elizabeth McCostlin, Major Gifts Officer
Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney, Officer, Administrative Management and
Special Events

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

UNICEF Profile Series

We are excited to announce the next UNICEF Profile Series coming up this spring in Chicago and Minneapolis! UNICEF Profile Series, Hope for an HIV-Free Generation in Africa will feature Maggie Betts, Director of the stirring documentary The Carrier about mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.

Chicago
Join us at Columbia College Chicago’s Film Row Cinema on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 6pm – 9pm for an exclusive screening of The Carrier and a Q&A with film director, Maggie Betts. Tickets are $50 each and include a pre-screening reception with light hors d’oeuvres and wine.
Please visit www.unicefusa.org/profileseries/chicago to purchase tickets and learn more about this event.

Minneapolis
Join us at the Minneapolis Club on Thursday, March 8, 2012 from 6pm – 8pm for a discussion about mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia with filmmaker Maggie Betts, and see a sneak preview of her documentary The Carrier. Tickets are $50 each and include a reception with light hors d’oeuvres and wine. Please visit www.unicefusa.org/profileseries/Minneapolis to purchase tickets and learn more about this event.

Save-the-Date
UNICEF Profile Series featuring Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
Friday, June 15, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois

Author of The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village about building the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School for children orphaned by AIDS in Uganda.

The UNICEF Profile Series features dynamic presentations by nationally or internationally recognized individuals whose personal or professional endeavors are on the forefront of UNICEF’s mission to do whatever it takes to save a child.

For more information about the UNICEF Profile Series, please contact Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney, Officer, Administrative Management and Special Events by calling 312.222.8900 x. 12 or by email at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.

Save-the-Date for UNICEF's Message of Hope Gala 2012
UNICEF’s pre-eminent gala in the Midwest is right around the corner!

UNICEF’s Message of Hope Gala 2012 will be held at the Union League Club of Chicago on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 6:30pm-11:30pm.

Last year’s event brought together more than 370 guests for an evening of fine dining and dancing to benefit UNICEF’s Build Back Better initiative in Haiti, and raised $550,000.

UNICEF’s Message of Hope 2012 Co-Chairs Paul Harvey and MaryLou Giustini are spearheading this year’s efforts to support UNICEF’s programs around the world. UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Proceeds from UNICEF’s Message of Hope Gala will further this work, enabling UNICEF to continue making a substantial impact on the lives of children worldwide.

Join us on Saturday, April 28, 2012 as we celebrate UNICEF’s accomplishments and unite together to help continue this lifesaving work.

This year’s event features a cocktail hour at which guests can explore a UNICEF field tent, an exciting raffle, fabulous entertainment and dancing, a gourmet dinner, and live and silent auctions offering extraordinary items from around the world.

Sponsorship opportunities begin at $5,000 and tickets are $500 each. Please call Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney for additional information at 312-222-8900 x.12, or email ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.

You can also visit www.unicefusa.org/messageofhope to purchase a table or tickets.

Stay tuned for updates on UNICEF’s Message of Hope 2012!

News and Past Events

UNICEF's Women of Compassion Luncheon

On Thursday, October 13^th 200 guests gathered at the Mid-America Club in Chicago, Illinois to honor Marjorie Craig Benton and Nancy Searle—two of Chicago's most esteemed philanthropists—at the Midwest's inaugural UNICEF's Women of Compassion Luncheon.  Hosted by the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the award is designed to recognize women in the Chicago region who are making a difference in the lives of children and women.

UNICEF's Women of Compassion Luncheon recognized the extraordinary service of Ms. Searle and Ms. Benton and their continued passion and dedication to improving the lives of women and children locally and globally. 

Committed to the wellbeing of children worldwide, Marjorie Craig Benton has served as a Public Delegate to the United Nations, chair of the White House Fellows Commission, and a board chair of Save the Children Federation. Her continued work for equality and justice for women and children align with the goals of UNICEF which aims for a day in which all girls and boys will be given equal protection and rights.

Gail Pollard Photography

(left to right) Wendy Serrino, Marjorie Craig Benton, Pamela Fiori, Nancy Searle and Joe Silich

Sharing UNICEF's belief that every child has a right to education, Nancy Searle has championed education including helping launch the charter school movement in Chicago. This includes forming New Schools for Chicago, an organization that has started more than 70 schools that offer underserved children a much-deserved and needed education. Ms. Searle also volunteers on several community and cultural institution boards.

Two UNICEF representatives were on hand to pay tribute to the honored women. Pamela Fiori, a U.S. Fund for UNICEF National Board Member and Editor at Large for Town & Country, served as emcee for the event that also showcased the work of UNICEF. Frequently in the middle of this life-saving work is senior UNICEF advisor for its Public Alliances and Resource Mobilization Office, Lisa Doughten, who presented a first-hand account of what it is like working on the front lines in poverty stricken areas.

In accepting UNICEF's Women of Compassion award, Marjorie Craig Benton quoted another inspiring woman, Gabriella Mistral, Chilean Nobel Prize Poet, saying "We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning children, neglecting the foundation of life. Many things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now his bones are being formed, his blood is being made, and his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer "tomorrow, his name is today…"

Nancy Searle concluded her acceptance speech with an inspiring call to action: "The development and growth of the charter school start up fund began as an idea about how to leverage change in a failing system. That one idea continues to change educational outcomes for children in our city. Everyone in this room today has the capacity to be a leader or to positively influence change for our children and our city, the nation and the world through the donation of your time, talents and resources. Everyone has the capacity to make a difference in their own way. I ask each of you to consider the possibilities…and make no small plans."

Thanks to the UNICEF Profile Series Steering Committee and luncheon co-chairs, Wendy Serrino and Joseph Silich for their hard work to make this event possible.

Please click here to view the Achieving Zero video shown at the luncheon.

Please visit gailpollardphoto.com to view photographs from the Women of Compassion luncheon and use the password unicef to access the gallery.

For more information about UNICEF’s Women of Compassion Luncheon, please contact Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney, Officer, Administrative Management and Special Events by calling 312.222.8900 x. 12 or by email at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.

UNICEF's Message of Hope 2011

More than 370 guests gathered at Chicago's InterContinental Hotel at the fourth annual UNICEF's Message of Hope Gala to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti and raise funds for UNICEF's Build Back Better initiative.  The event raised $550,000, exceeding the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's goal and raising much needed funds for the children of Haiti.

"It's not often that people have the opportunity to bring real hope to a child's life, but the Message of Hope Gala provides that chance and the chance to enjoy a wonderful evening," said Laura Myntti, event co-chair, along with Brendan Burke, who added, "the children of Haiti were some of the most vulnerable in the wake of the earthquake.  Bringing hope to those who have lost so much is an honor."

© Gail Pollard Photography

UNICEF's Message of Hope Gala co-chairs Laura Myntti and Brendan Burke.

The evening kicked off with a cocktail reception in the InterContinental Hotel's majestic Renaissance Ballroom where guests competed for silent auction items and learned more about UNICEF's extensive work on behalf of the children in Haiti.  A  "field tent" was set up, where attendees could purchase (for donation) lifesaving supplies like bed nets, family water pump kits, a school-in-a-box kit and hydration salts.

Guests then made their way to the gorgeous, candle-lit Grand Ballroom styled by prominent Chicago design company Kehoe Designs.  The stunning décor featured images of Haitian children and traditional building materials like tin and cinderblocks as a reminder of the event's focus – building a brighter future for the children of Haiti.

Master drummer and singer Donald Dorcilus, a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and his West Indian Folk Dance Company began the evening's featured events with a spirited performance.  They were followed by remarks from Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and Louis-Georges Arsenault, Director of the Office of Emergency Programs of UNICEF. 

The live auction put paddles in the air with attendees vying to win their favorite items, including trips to China, Japan and London, and a one-of-a-kind dinner party for 12 at the famed Frank Lloyd Wright Arthur B. Heurtley House with Chef Frank Brunacci, Executive Chef at Trump International Hotel & Tower's Sixteen.  During the paddle raise, many joined in to contribute directly to UNICEF's work in Haiti.  By the end of the evening everyone was on the dance floor when the band 312 Chicago rocked the house.

© Gail Pollard Photography

Guests dance to the music of 312 Chicago at UNICEF's Message of Hope Gala 2011.

Thanks to all of our guests and supporters, as well as to our wonderful volunteers who truly made this event possible.  We would also like to give a special mention to our generous sponsors including Abbott Laboratories, Inc., American Airlines, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Christopher and Renee Baldwin and Credit Suisse, Brendan Burke, Delta Air Lines Inc., Energy BBDO, Vince and MaryLou Giustini, Paul and Mary Ann Harvey, Vince Hemmer, Ken and Patty Hunt, Hyatt International, InterContinental Hotel Chicago, Lisa and Ray Lewis, The Rise Group and Laura Myntti and Leif Selkregg, Frank and Wendy Serrino, Joseph N. Silich, Weeden & Co., LP, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, and many more.

Save-the-Date for UNICEF’s Message of Hope Gala 2012! Join us on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at the Union League Club of Chicago for an exciting evening of fine dining, dancing and live entertainment to benefit UNICEF.

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 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 volunteering with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Midwest Region please contact Elisabeth Kasdorf-Torney 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-Torney at ekasdorf@unicefusa.org.

Advocacy Council
Concerned citizens participate in letter-writing campaigns to their elected representatives on topics of major interest to UNICEF and the U.S. Fund.  These campaigns are important for the visibility they bring to vital issues affecting children in the developing world.  To participate online, click here.

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