In inland Bahia, UNICEF and its partners found  Yasmin and her sisters and took the girls to school  Now, they have the chance to break the cycle of  illiteracy and to have a different future from their mother and grandmother

5 Ways to Give to Children in Need This Season With UNICEF

However you like to give — by helping in emergencies, donating monthly, shopping for good or fundraising on social — UNICEF has you covered.

Donate

The giving season is upon us. If helping children and young people matters to you, UNICEF is one of the best charities to donate to if you want your support to go a long way. But straight donations aren’t the only way to support UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children. This year, UNICEF USA offers a number of different ways you can give back.  

Show you care with a one-time donation

All children deserve to live safe, healthy lives. But in 2021, those rights were trampled upon as the impact of COVID-19 eroded decades of progress. Children struggled to learn remotely; many of those who have no mobile phones or access to the internet, unsuccessfully. Lockdowns and service interruptions deprived children of routine vaccinations that protect them from serious yet preventable diseases. The impact of the global economic decline brought the world food crisis into children's homes, where parents struggled to put food on the table. In Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria and other countries, escalating and protracted conflicts put children in the line of fire and subjected women and girls to rising threats of gender-based violence. With climate change worsening the scale, frequency and intensity of emergencies, over 400 million children now live in areas where water is dangerously scarce.  

Wherever children are in danger, UNICEF steps up. But although it became a permanent part of the United Nations (U.N.) in 1953, UNICEF receives no U.N. funding. It relies on the voluntary contributions of people like you.

 

This mom and child take a moment to rest on the road from Venezuela to the border between Colombia and Ecuador, where UNICEF Ecuador is providing safe drinking water, sanitation, education and health services to migrant families fleeing violence and pover

This mom and child take a moment to rest on the road from Venezuela to the border between Colombia and Ecuador, where UNICEF Ecuador is providing safe drinking water, sanitation, education and health services to migrant families fleeing violence and poverty. © UNICEF/UN0247700/Arcos

Thankfully, UNICEF's 75-year history of being in the right place at the right time to help children has earned it the trust of many. "Protecting children, giving them opportunities to play, learn, feel safer, heal... are critical to us," said one respondent to a survey UNICEF USA conducted to learn how its supporters feel about donating to UNICEF. "UNICEF is the one organization we have chosen this year. We don't have much but we want to share."

Contributions in any amount provide crucial support for children, and though tax laws may change from year to year, there are loads of ways to make charitable giving work for you — and the causes you believe in.   

"UNICEF is the one organization we have chosen this year. We don't have much but we want to share."

Make a 100% tax-deductible donation

Make it monthly

Protecting children before, during and after a crisis requires a reliable source of funding. That's the beauty of what monthly donors provide: a constant stream of revenue that enables UNICEF to preposition emergency supplies before a disaster strikes and build sustainable solutions long after the acute phase of the crisis has subsided. Monthly giving is also critical to funding ongoing health programs, like UNICEF's global immunization campaigns and programs in over 100 countries to prevent and treat the malnutrition linked to nearly half of all deaths of children under 5. 

 

When you donate to UNICEF USA, you help children like Sarahis, who says she loves going to her school in her village of Toundianai, in Côte d'Ivoire, get the education they need to live up to their full potential

Sarah is only 4 years old, but already she understands the power of education. She loves going to school in the village where she lives in Côte d'Ivoire. © UNICEF/UN061288/Dejongh

Monthly giving is good for the world's most vulnerable children. It also comes with significant benefits for supporters, too. Monthly donors are automatically admitted to the Guardian Circle, which entitles them to: 

  • Annual statements to make tax time easier

  • An easy-to-use donor portal that simplifies adjusting gift amounts, updating payment methods and making other changes, including the timing of donations with the option to cancel at any point

  • Monthly statements detailing giving to date and a quarterly 8-page newsletter with stories of UNICEF in action

  • A dedicated, responsive team available to answer questions via email or phone

Learn more about how to become a monthly donor here. 

Start your own fundraiser

You probably know from your Facebook feed that crowdfunding campaigns are growing more popular by the day — especially during the giving season. 

If you feel the same way, this holiday is a great time to share your commitment to a better world for children by starting your own Facebook fundraiser for UNICEF

It's easy to do. Just go to UNICEF USA's Facebook page and follow the step-by-step instructions. 

Not on Facebook? UNICEF USA offers another easy way to start fundraising. Just click here, complete a brief form and you'll be up and running in no time — sharing your passion for helping kids in need and raising money to support the UNICEF programs that keep them healthy, growing, learning and safe.  

UNICEF Market has something for everyone on your list. Each and every gift gives back to the world's children! 

Shop UNICEF Market for holiday gifts

Every day, UNICEF Market artisans are hard at work, preserving handcrafting traditions that have supported their families and communities for centuries. Their handmade goods are intrinsically beautiful, like the holiday ornaments handcrafted by Peruvian ceramicist Anita Contreras. They are also beloved by UNICEF Market shoppers because proceeds from every purchase go towards supporting UNICEF's programs for children. 

Watch the video below for a sneak peek into Contreras's ceramic studio, then check out the wide array of gifts — from jewelry to Mexican handblown glass to gorgeous Alpaca woolens — that are ready to ship out from UNICEF Market's Holiday Collection. There's something for everyone on your list and each and every gift gives back to the world's children! 

Dedicate a UNICEF Inspired Gift to a loved one

What do you get for that friend who has everything? Or for anyone who cares about children? UNICEF Inspired Gifts are supplies — blankets and winter clothes to keep children who live in a refugee camp warm, exercise books and pencils for children desperate to learn, lifesaving nutrition for those suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and more — that you can send to a child or children in need in honor of a friend or loved one.  

To order, all you have to do is choose a gift, personalize a holiday card or write an e-greeting, then hit "send." UNICEF takes it from there — notifying your recipient that you've given a lifesaving gift in his or her name as your shipment of vital supplies is delivered — by car, helicopter, motorcycle, bike, donkey or canoe — to let children in some of the world's hardest-to-reach places know they are not forgotten. 

Shop for UNICEF Inspired Gifts today.

This holiday, let children living in some of the world's hardest-to-reach places know they are not forgotten.

For over 70 years, UNICEF has been putting children first, working to protect their rights and provide the assistance and services they need to survive and thrive all over the world. UNICEF and partners are working tirelessly in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Bangladesh and around the world to save and protect children. With a presence in 190 countries, UNICEF has helped save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. 

Please support UNICEF's programs to save and protect children all over the world. 

TOP PHOTO: After meeting Baby Yasmin and her big sisters in inland Bahia, Brazil, UNICEF and partners got the older girls into school. Now they — and Yasmin — have a chance to break the cycle of illiteracy that consigned their mother and grandmother to a life of poverty. © UNICEF/UN0225944/Libório

 

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