Mother’s Day Gifts Help Children Across the Globe

NEW YORK (April 22, 2013) – The U.S. Fund for UNICEF today announced a line of Mother’s Day gifts that help provide children in developing countries with a healthier childhood. Purchasing items like hand-carved jewelry from UNICEF’s cards and gifts collection, or a special edition “Gucci for UNICEF” Boston handbag, will support survival and development programs for children worldwide.

Shoppers can also choose to give lifesaving UNICEF Inspired Gifts like a Safe Birthing Kit, which may be purchased in honor of mom and delivered to an area of the world where access to health care for expecting mothers is limited. A donation of $93 toward a Safe Birthing Kit can save lives and help babies gain a healthy start by providing enough medical supplies and equipment for 50 safe deliveries.

“Mother’s Day is a time when we honor the vital role a mother has in her child’s life,” said Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “At UNICEF, we believe that ZERO children should die of things we know we can prevent and we know that healthy moms make for healthy children.”
 
Each year more than 500,000 women die in childbirth or from complications during pregnancy. Babies whose mothers have died during childbirth have a much greater chance of dying in their first year. To shop and learn more about safe birthing kits and other Inspired Gifts visit www.inspiredgifts.org. 

This Mother’s Day UNICEF also offers a variety of more traditional cards and gifts, including Crystal Bangles and other jewelry, and unique handmade items like the Mother and Child Sculpture made from Haitian soapstone and decorative Wooden Pisanki Eggs authentically hand-painted in traditional Polish designs. Individual Mother’s Day cards are also available at select retail stores, including Barnes and Noble, Hallmark Gold Crown, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Kohl’s and Safeway. A portion of the retail price of items from UNICEF’s Cards & Gifts collection support UNICEF’s programs. To learn more and to shop online visit www.shopcardsandgifts.unicefusa.org. 

For the fifth consecutive year, Gucci Creative Director and 2011 UNICEF Woman of Compassion honoree Frida Giannini designed a special edition “Gucci for UNICEF” Boston handbag. This new version of the signature Boston handbag comes in alabaster micro Guccissima leather. Twenty-five percent of the retail price of each bag sold through May 2013 will benefit UNICEF’s “Schools for Africa” and “Schools for Asia” initiatives in Malawi, Mozambique, and China. Over the past two years, the “Gucci for UNICEF” bags have generated more than 2 million USD for UNICEF. The Boston Bag is available in Gucci stores worldwide and on www.Gucci.com.

About UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For additional information, please contact:

Hazel Cobb, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.880.9173, hcobb@unicefusa.org
Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.922.2464, mgreenberg@unicefusa.org