420 Boylston Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02116
617.266.7534
617.266.7903 (fax)

STAFF | EVENTS | NEWS | VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Staff

Kristen Mangelinkx, Director
Jan Dorman, Major Gifts Officer
Elana Western, Development Coordinator
Laura Driscoll, Development Coordinator

The New England Chapter offers thanks and appreciation to the volunteer leaders on our Board of Directors and Advisory Council.

Events

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Knight

U.S. Fund for UNICEF Regional Director, Kristen Mangelinkx, David Ortiz, and Children's Champion Award event chair, Sally Cottingham 

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF presented the Children's Champion Award to Red Sox star David Ortiz on Monday June 9, 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston.  More than 300 guests attended the reception and award dinner, which featured a video highlighting UNICEF and Ortiz's charitable work with the Dominican "HEARTS" program. The video included footage of David with 14-year-old Diana Reyes, who received heart surgery in the Dominican Republic as a result of Ortiz's generosity. Following the video, U.S. Fund for UNICEF president Caryl Stern surprised Ortiz by introducing special guest Diana Reyes, who then presented the award to Ortiz in honor of his work for children in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz accepted the award with an emotional speech about his commitment to helping children.  He thanked his family and supporters and shared his memories of UNICEF from childhood in the Dominican Republic.

Over $440,000 was raised to benefit UNICEF's programs for children in Latin America and the David Ortiz Children's Fund.

The New England Regional Office hosts an array of events, including the annual Children's Champion Award, which has honored such figures as Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor of Jordan, Hugh Downs, Sir Roger Moore and H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover. In addition, various small-scale events for donors and interested individuals are held throughout the year. If you would like to learn more, e-mail bostonevents@unicefusa.org. 

News 

New England Regional Board Raising Funds for Education in Rwanda

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Rusanganwa

A boy in class at Rubingo Primary school outside Kigali, Rwanda 

Every child deserves an education, a critical element to a child’s development and well-being. School is about more than just learning—it saves and transforms lives, and yields spectacular benefits in social and economic development. A national study supported by UNICEF found that around 25% of primary-school-aged and 89% of secondary-school-aged children across Rwanda are not in school.

UNICEF is working to apply it's Child-Friendly Schools model in Rwanda. These schools provide an environment that is free of exclusion or discrimination, respects diversity, and meets the differing circumstances and needs of all children. The New England Regional Board is working to raise funds to construct 3 classrooms, provide supplies for 100 students, build 2 latrines/sinks, provide 2 water tanks, and train 20 teachers and 20 community workers in Rwanda. If you would like to learn more about the project or to help the board reach their goal, please contact Kristen Mangelinkx at kmangelinkx@unicefusa.org.

Field Visit to Brazil

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Mangelinkx

 A photo from Kristen Mangelinkx's recent trip to Brazil.

Director Kristen Mangelinkx recently returned from Brazil where she had the opportunity to see UNICEF's work in creating sustainable solutions to some of the biggest issues facing children. Throughout Brazil, UNICEF is collaborating with the government and other partners to provide children with quality education, healthcare, clean water, protection from violence and social support.

In the next several months, we will be having a number of small gatherings to discuss her travels and show photographs taken in Brazil. If you would like to attend please contact us at 617.266.7534, ext. 105.
 
You can also read blog entries written on the trip at: fieldnotes.unicefusa.org.

Women's Luncheon Series

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Haley Boylan

New England Regional Office Board member Barrie Landry and Ishmael Beah.

On April 2, 2008 Ishmael Beah, UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War, and author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, gave incredible insight into the lives of child soldiers by telling his story at a luncheon.  Beah's life in his native Sierra Leone was derailed at age twelve when he lost his family to the brutal civil war, and by thirteen, he had been recruited by the government army to serve as a fighter.  Recounting his release from the army to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, Beah left the audience with a sense of hope, focusing on the impact of rehabilitation for victims and the resilience of children affected by armed conflict.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2008 we hosted guest speaker Betty Bigombe who spoke about her role as a peace negotiator in Uganda and the many challenges she faced working as a mediator between rebel leader Joseph Kony and the country's government in her efforts to end the Lords Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda. She shared touching personal stories that she heard directly from victims of the war—mothers whose children were abducted, who feared more than anything that their children had become perpetrators of war under unspeakable circumstances. Throughout her talk, she made clear that Uganda is still in need of ongoing support on behalf of its children and its future.

This is the 6th year of the UNICEF Women's Luncheon Series in Boston. The luncheon attracts professional women from the Boston area to an intimate experience of a brief presentation by the featured speaker and an enriching Q & A session.  For more information about upcoming luncheons or any of UNICEF's other educational and fundraising events contact 617-266-7534 x105

Special thanks to the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and Mrs. G. Barrie Landry for their support of this luncheon series.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Driscoll

New England Chapter interns Kasia Zabawa and Henry Agbo with UNICEF supporter Lucy Driscoll
 
 

Beacon Hill and Back Bay were once again the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF headquarters in Boston in 2007! Children had the opportunity to pick up their orange Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF boxes so that they could be a part of the kids-helping-kids effort, collecting change to benefit children worldwide.

Volunteer opportunities

If you would like to volunteer to help raise money through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF or other youth activities, please call 1.800.4UNICEF or sign up to be a volunteer at volunteers.unicefusa.org. If you are interested in volunteering for local events or applying for internships, please contact us at (617) 266-7534 ext. 105 or bostonevents@unicefusa.org.

Board of Directors

Advisory Council