Southeast Regional Office

1447 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 310
Atlanta, GA 30309
404.881.2700
404.239.3302 (fax)

STAFF | UPCOMING EVENTS | PAST EVENTS | VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES | BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Staff

Barron Segar, Vice President, Regional Fundraising
Alissa Silverman, Managing Director
Jeremy Cole, Major Gifts Officer
Betsy Root, Global Fellow

Upcoming Events

The UNICEF Experience

Please join us on April 28, 2013 for our next UNICEF Experience at Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta. For more details visit our events page.

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

The UNICEF Experience exhibit highlights UNICEF's lifesaving global programs: child protection, nutrition, water andsanitation, education and development, emergency relief, health and HIV/AIDS.

On Sunday, April 29, 2012, the Georgia Public Broadcasting studio was transformed for the Second Annual UNICEF Experience.

Attended by more than 300 guests, the unique event shone a spotlight on children’s struggle for survival in more than 150 countries around the world—children who often lack the most basic necessities, such as shelter, clean water and basic nutrition. Interactive exhibits showcased UNICEF's programs in the areas of emergency relief, health and HIV/AIDS, and water and sanitation. Youth board members (ages 4 to 16) and college students who served as volunteers were able to learn about UNICEF's work and how to become actively engaged global citizens.

A live auction was held to support UNICEF's efforts to reach a day when ZERO children die from preventable causes. Through the auction and the purchase of UNICEF Inspired Gifts—like malaria nets, water pumps, and school-in-a-box kits—over $623,000 were raised. In addition, Atlanta philanthropist Dr. Bobbie Bailey gave a matching grant of $250,000. 

Special thanks to event chair Rebecca Gupta; founding co-chairs John Terracino and Vern Yip, of HGTV; planning committee chair Enid Draluck; and our Southeast Regional Board of Directors for a very successful event!

UNICEF Southeast Region Speaker Series

The UNICEF Southeast Speaker Series engages the civic and philanthropic community in UNICEF’s work through interesting discussions about issues affecting children around the globe. Each event focuses on a different topic and includes a conversation between a UNICEF staff member and a local leader.

UNICEF Speaker Series: Children and Disabilities

From left to right: Cara Yar Khan, Beth Schmehling-Cook, and James H. Shepherd, Jr.

Last month, the Southeast Regional Office hosted their final UNICEF Speaker Series of 2012. Nearly 50 people, including a mixture of board members, existing donors, and prospects attended the event at the world-renowned Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital specializing in medical treatment, research, and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury or brain injury. The program, entitled "Access and Opportunity for All: A Conversation about Children and Disability," featured a panel discussion on disability and its effect on young people throughout the world.

Panelists included Cara Yar Khan, UNICEF's Resource Mobilization Specialist and Disability Focal Point for Haiti; Beth Schmehling-Cook, Executive Director for the Elaine Clark Center*; and James H. Shepherd Jr., Chairman of the Board of the Shepherd Center. Cara Yar Khan showed a video highlighting UNICEF’s work on disability in Haiti and providing a glimpse of the struggles faced by people with disabilities in the wake of Haiti’s earthquake. Attendees heard how Ms. Yar Khan has used her own experience of disability to help inform UNICEF’s work and its efforts to be more sensitive to the needs of those with disabilities.

*The Elaine Clark Center is a non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of children with disabilities in Atlanta through an innovative model of education, therapeutic play and experiential opportunities.

Past Events

UNICEF Speaker Series: UNICEF’s Partnership with UPS

From left to right: Ed MartiFrom left to right: Ed Martinez, President, The UPS Foundation; Joe Ruiz; Esther Ndichu;Thomas Sorensen; Chip Chappelle; and Alissa Silverman

The UPS Foundation hosted a UNICEF Speaker Series event In Atlanta on Thursday, September 13, entitled “By Train, By Plane, By Car, By Cart: Delivering Lifesaving Supplies to the World’s Children.”  Dan Brutto, President of UPS International and U.S. Fund for UNICEF National Board Member, started the evening on a high note by sharing some major news: the worldwide number of under-five child deaths had dropped yet again—this time, down to 19,000 per day. 

This was followed by a panel discussion on UNICEF’s Supply Division and the U.S. Fund’s strong partnership with UPS. Panelists included Joe Ruiz, Director of the UPS Humanitarian Relief Program; Esther Ndichu, Humanitarian Supply Chain Logistics Manager for UPS; Thomas Sorensen, Chief of Knowledge Management and Communications, UNICEF Supply Division; Chip Chappelle, UPS Corporate Transportation Manager; and Alissa Silverman, Managing Director of the Southeast Region for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, who moderated the discussion.  

Panelists spoke about UNICEF’s Supply Division crucial role in saving children’s lives. One remarkable example: the division procures enough doses of vaccine for 58% of the world’s children, even in the hardest-to-reach places.  Chip Chappelle spoke of the days following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and how the partnership between UNICEF and UPS made it possible to deliver desperately needed supplies within hours after the emergency.

UNICEF Speaker Series on Trafficking: How Do We Keep Children Safe?

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Panelists: Susan Bissell, Deborah Richardson, Brandy Bazile and Kaffie McCullough

On June 19, 2012, guests learned about the severity of this $32 billion industry and its global and local effects. Our speakers included Susan Bissell, UNICEF’s Chief of Child Protection; Kaffie McCullough, youthSpark’s Deputy Director; and Brandy Bazile, Wellspring Living participant. National Center of Civic and Human Rights Executive Vice President Deborah Richardson moderated.

Human trafficking has been likened to a modern-day form of slavery. Arround the world, 5.5 million children are victims of forced labor and human trafficking. These children have been bought and sold, forced into prostitution, or made to work at grueling, dangerous jobs with little or no pay.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Southeast Regional Office serves Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. We are always looking for volunteers to help expand UNICEF's presence.
Here are a few ways in which you can volunteer with us:

Online Volunteer Center

Volunteering with the Southeast Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a great way to inform your community about UNICEF’s work—and to get involved in helping save children’s lives around the world. Every day, 19,000 children die from preventable causes. With your help, we can help make that number 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 has several volunteer activities and resources, such as turn-key tool kits that provide step-by-step instructions for holding awareness-building, fundraising or advocacy activities in your community; a calendar of local events; and more.

Youth Action for UNICEF

What started out as a Halloween project called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF more than 60 years ago has now evolved into a year-round mobilization of children, youth leaders, campus groups, parents and educators across the United States. Volunteers young and old alike make the world a better place for children by helping UNICEF provide them with health care, including immunizations, education, protection, and emergency relief. For more information, click here or call 1.800.4UNICEF.

Internships and Atlanta Based Opportunities

College interns assist in a number of areas in the Southeast Regional Office. Often, interns are given specific projects within a designated program. Internships are offered for course credit during summer, fall/winter and spring.

For other volunteer opportunities in the office or for more information, contact Stephanie Hurt at 404.881.2700 or shurt@unicefusa.org.

Board of Directors

The Southeast Region is grateful for the volunteer leadership of our Regional Board of Directors.

Delta Air Lines is the official airline for the Southeast Regional office.