Southern California Regional Office

10351 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 402
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.277.7608
310.277.2757 (fax)

STAFF | RECENT EVENTS | VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Staff

Anne Kelly, Regional Managing Director
Amber Hill, Deputy Director
Miesha Cowart, Development Coordinator

The Southern California Regional Office is grateful for the support of its local Board of Directors and an army of volunteers.

Upcoming Events

Join Us on January 30 for the Next  Saving Children: A Speakers Series Luncheon—“Reaching the Most Marginalized: Children with Disabilities”

Cara Yar Khan, UNICEF’s Disability Specialist in Haiti, will present her unique perspective in a talk entitled, “Reaching the Most Marginalized: Children with Disabilities.” Cara will speak about UNICEF’s work on disabilities and how it relates to UNICEF’s human rights-based approach and its push for equity.

UNICEF advocates for the protection of the rights of all children, strives to meet their basic needs and works to expand opportunities to help them reach their potential. According to the World Report on Disability, 1 billon people experience disability, and at least 1 in 10 are children. Eighty percent live in developing countries.

Tickets for this luncheon are $55. The program occurs from 11:30 A.M.–1:30 P.M. at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City. To reserve your place, please contact Miesha Cowart at 310-277-7608 or mcowart@unicefusa.org.

2013 LA Marathon: Join Team UNICEF Today!

Los Angeles’s premier running extravaganza, the LA Marathon will take place on March 17, 2013. By joining Team UNICEF, you will help fuel our unwavering conviction to fight for the survival and development of all children, in all situations, all of the time.

Benefits of joining Team UNICEF in the 2013 LA Marathon include:

• Personal Online Fundraising Page to support your fundraising efforts
• Team UNICEF Activation Kit: practice T-shirt, Team UNICEF Toolkit, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Annual Report, Believe in ZERO pin
• Team UNICEF Race Day Kit: running jersey, supporter T-shirts, pom-poms
• Invitation to Team UNICEF Pasta Party with guest
• Access to race day suite at Dodger Stadium (start line)
• Access to Team UNICEF finish area tent

Visit unicefusa.org/teamunicef to apply today!

Intimate Dinner to Support Chinese Children’s Initiative

Dale Rutstein, Chief of Communications and Private Partnerships, UNICEF China, will discuss the harsh realities faced by millions of vulnerable, disabled, and abandoned Chinese children and how businesses and individuals can help UNICEF meet their needs. 

The event will be held on February 13 from 7–10 P.M. (location to be announced). Tickets are $175 each. For more information, please contact our office at 310-277-7608 or mcowart@unicefusa.org.

Recent Events

Saving Children: A Speaker’s Series–Child Trafficking: A Global Crisis

Human trafficking of any kind violates a child’s rights to be protected, grow up in a safe family environment and have access to an education. Victims often suffer physical, sexual, and emo¬tional abuse as well as all manner of neglect and inhumane living conditions. Child Protection and Child Trafficking Specialist Dr. Susu Thatun and former Administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force Sandie Morgan shared their insights on this insidious, multi-billion dollar business on October 25, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City.

In January 2012, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF launched End Trafficking, a U.S.-based education and advocacy program that not only raises awareness about child trafficking, but also mobilizes communities to take meaningful ac¬tion to help protect children. For more information on UNICEF’s End Trafficking campaign, please visit unicefusa.org/campaigns/end-trafficking/.

Saving Children: A Speaker’s Series—A Story of Redemption and Hope

In 1991, the outbreak of civil war in Sierra Leone upended the lives of millions. On May 9, 2012, at the Intercontinental Hotel Century City, friends of UNICEF had a unique opportunity to hear from former child soldier, Ishmael Beah. Author of the critically acclaimed book A Long Way Gone, Beah recounted his experiences and how UNICEF helped him escape from life as a child soldier at the age of sixteen. With the support of staff at his rehabilitation center, Ishmael learned how to forgive himself, regain his humanity, and, finally, heal.

Ishmael Beah was appointed UNICEF’s first Advocate for Children Affected by War in 2007.

On January 26, 2012, Opening Hearts, Opening Minds: Telling the Stories of Vulnerable Children around the World

On Thursday, January 26, Lisa Ling, Host of Our America gave a presentation entitled Opening Hearts, Opening Minds: Telling the Stories of Vulnerable Children around the World. Her extensive reporting and experiences shed light on global concerns of children including those who are forced to fight in wars or labor in intolerable conditions; children who are sexually abused or subjected to violence; and children who are forced into child marriage.

As a correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and a contributor to ABC’s Nightline and National Geographic’s Explorer, Lisa Ling has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India, and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, among other controversial issues. 

Lisa covered the war in Afghanistan as a 21-year-old correspondent for Channel One News and later became co-host of ABC’s The View. Her new series, Our America with Lisa Ling, premiered on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN in February 2011.  Lisa is a contributing editor for USA Today’s USA Weekend and is the co-author of Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood. In addition, she co-authored Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and The Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home with her sister Laura.

Previous presenters in the Saving Children Series include

• Children at Risk in China: Lisa See, best-selling author of Shanghai Girls
• Children's Issues in India: Anil Kapoor, actor, Slumdog Millionaire
• Why Do They Run Away: Sonia Nazario, author of Enrique's Journey
• Water is Key: Gil Garcetti, former LA County District Attorney and urban photographer

For more information on Saving Children: A Speaker's Series, please contact Miesha Cowart at 310-277-7608 or mcowart@unicefusa.org.

Volunteer Opportunities

U.S. Fund for UNICEF volunteers have played a vital role in helping advance global change since our inception in 1947. Volunteers are essential to the Southern California Regional Office in the areas of fundraising, education and advocacy.

To learn more about all of UNICEF's volunteer opportunities—including Youth Action, Advocacy, UNICEF's Campus Initiative and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF—visit www.unicefusa.org/volunteer or email volunteer@unicefusa.org.

Internships

College students assist the Los Angeles office with administrative and research projects. Additionally, interns are provided opportunities to assist with local special events. Internships are quarterly assignments and may be completed for approved course credit. For more information, please contact Miesha Cowart, Development Coordinator at 310.277.7608 or mcowart@unicefusa.org.

Board of Directors