U.S. Fund for UNICEF announces 2011 holiday gifts that give back

From Holiday Cards and Inspired Gifts, to Gifts from IKEA, Gucci and Disney by FEED, UNICEF has Everything Shoppers Need This Holiday Season

NEW YORK, NY (October 18, 2011) — The U.S. Fund for UNICEF today announced new holiday card and gift collections, UNICEF Inspired Gifts and a lineup of exclusive products sold in partnership with top brands for the 2011 holiday giving season. All money raised through UNICEF's holiday "Gifts That Give Back" program will help in its mission of reducing the number of daily, preventable deaths of children under-five from 21,000 to zero.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF will once again offer Inspired Gifts, allowing shoppers to purchase actual lifesaving supplies that can make an immediate and dramatic difference in the lives of children in need – including therapeutic milk for malnourished children, much needed medical supplies, polio and measles vaccines to keep children healthy, mosquito nets to keep children safe from Malaria, nutritional supplements for malnourished children, notebooks and pencils for schools, hand pumps to ensure safe drinking water and a winter child survival pack and sturdy tents for emergency shelter. To learn more select a lifesaving gift visit www.inspiredgifts.org.
 
UNICEF offers a beautiful collection of holiday gifts for people of all ages—including Indian crafted Ornaments and Brass & Rosewood Bangles, the UNICEF 2012 Children's Art Wall Calendar and Lift-The Flap Pictures Atlas. A portion of sales from each item in the collection will support UNICEF's programs that save, protect and improve the lives of millions of children in more than 150 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.shopcardsandgifts.unicefusa.org.

Continuing a 60-year tradition, UNICEF also will sell its iconic holiday greeting cards, which can be purchased online at www.unicefusa.org, by calling 1-800-553-1200, and at Pier 1 Imports, IKEA, select Hallmark Gold Crown stores and Barnes & Noble stores. This year, IKEA will also donate an additional $1 per pack of holiday cards sold. The Pier 1 card collection will feature the winning design from this year's Annual Pier 1 Imports/UNICEF Greeting Card Contest, available at Pier 1 stores nationwide. The contest kicks off in Pier 1 Imports store locations October 16 and runs through November 4.

"We are incredibly thankful to our partners for all of their support – especially during the holiday season," said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern. "Their commitment will help us in our work to do whatever it takes to save children’s lives."

Partner companies that will conduct holiday activities supporting UNICEF in 2011 include:

IKEA "Soft Toys for Education"

• Through the annual Soft Toy campaign, IKEA continues its long-standing partnership with UNICEF by helping to provide children with access to a quality education. From November 1 to December 24, for every IKEA soft toy and accompanying children's book sold, the IKEA Foundation will donate one euro (approximately $1.35) to support UNICEF and Save the Children education programs. New in 2011, a circus-themed collection joins a whimsical assortment of soft and cuddly friends – affordably priced from $0.49 - $19.99. Since the IKEA "Soft Toys for Education" program began in 2003, it has raised $47.5 million in support of education programs – including support for UNICEF's Schools for Africa initiative – helping UNICEF provide 5.5 million children in 11 of Africa's poorest countries with access to a quality education. For more information, visit www.ikeafoundation.org.

Gucci

• Gucci announced a $250,000 donation to UNICEF's Schools for Africa initiative in honor of its partnership with UNICEF and the release of the luxury edition of Gucci: The Making Of… Coinciding with Gucci's 90th anniversary, the book is an insightful tribute to the heritage and influence of the iconic Italian fashion house. Bound and slip-cased in bonded leather, the luxury edition is currently available in Gucci boutiques.
• In addition, Gucci supports UNICEF's Schools for Africa initiative through other activities. Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini has designed an updated version of the bestselling "Gucci for UNICEF" Sukey bag. Twenty five percent of the retail price for each bag sold will benefit UNICEF. The "Gucci for UNICEF" Sukey, which features the Diamante motif in deep chocolate brown, is available in Gucci stores and on www.Gucci.com through February 28, 2012. For a second year, Gucci has also pledged a one million dollar donation on behalf of the Gucci children's collection.

"Disney It’s a Small World" by FEED Collection

• FEED Projects is a charitable company with the mission of creating good products that FEED the world, and FEED products have provided funding for UNICEF's nutrition programs for children around the world. The latest FEED initiative benefiting UNICEF celebrates Disney's beloved attraction through the "Disney It's A Small World" collection, inspired by the original artwork of Mary Blair. The FEED Projects items from the collection includes a tote, a bib, an infant bodysuit and pants set, and a tee for girls and boys, available at Nordstrom stores in the U.S. and online, as well as the FEED website www.feedprojects.com. For each 'FEED Our Small World' product purchased, FEED will make a donation to help UNICEF provide children with an entire year's worth of Vitamin A supplements. In addition, The Walt Disney Company has made a donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in honor of the collection's launch. 

Delta Air Lines

• SkyMiles® members can put their unused frequent flier miles to good use by donating them to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. SkyMiles members can visit the link below to donate miles and find more information: www.delta.com/skywish.

There are a variety of other ways that individuals can give back this Holiday season including through the support of:

Threadless Good Shirts collection

• To aid children in famine and drought-affected areas of the Horn of Africa, Threadless and BBH New York have partnered with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to release Good Shirts. A line of t-shirts designed by NYC art collective Christine & Justin Gignac, the collection features an innovative range of designs, each representing aid items urgently needed in the Horn of Africa. For a donation of $18.57, which is the exact cost of three insecticide treated mosquito nets, supporters receive a t-shirt featuring a foiled mosquito. Donate $300,000, the cost for UNICEF to transport aid from Copenhagen to Nairobi, and get a t-shirt featuring a cargo plane. One hundred percent of donations go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support lifesaving relief efforts for children in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Every Good Shirt is a chance to wear something good. They will be available October 25 on www.threadless.com/UNICEF.

K.I.N.D. (Kids in Need of Desks)

• MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell has partnered with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in an ambitious campaign called K.I.N.D.: Kids in Need of Desks to provide tens of thousands of desks to hundreds of schools in Malawi. By making a tax-deductible donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF today, you can pick one or more students up off the ground and help pave their way to a better education and brighter future. A gift of $24 can provide one student with a seat. A gift of $48 will buy a desk and bench for two students. A gift of $720 will furnish an entire class of 30. For more information please visit www.unicefusa.org\kind.

For more information or to select and purchase your gift, please visit www.unicefusa.org/holidaypromotions.

About UNICEF

UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian aid organization in the world. Working in more than 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health and immunizations, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency and disaster relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.

UNICEF is at the forefront of efforts to reduce child mortality worldwide. There has been substantial progress: the annual number of under-five deaths dropped from 13 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. But still, 21,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood.

For additional information, please contact:
Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.922.2464, mgreenberg@unicefusa.org