Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and Help Eliminate MNT this Halloween!

For the past two decades, Key Club International has raised more than $6 million for UNICEF through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. This year, Key Club members along with the whole Kiwanis family will Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF to support The Eliminate Project, which seeks to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT).

Kiwanis members fundraising for The Eliminate Project Kiwanis members fundraising for The Eliminate Project

More than 80% of all tetanus cases worldwide occur when women give birth in unsanitary conditions.  Too often, these infections are fatal for a newborn. But for just US$1.80, UNICEF is able to provide the vaccine serum, syringes, transportation and health education to protect a pregnant woman from infection.

For example, Kiwanis funds have already helped fund MNT elimination efforts in Niger, where women in remote villages are increasingly seeking out prenatal vaccination. They learn about the dangers of MNT from UNICEF-supported community-based healthcare workers who encourage them to deliver in the safety of a health center.

Key Club International, one of the service leadership programs at Kiwanis International, is the oldest and largest service program for high school students in the world. Key Club is proud to be part of The Eliminate Project. At their recent international convention in Washington, D.C., Key Club members held a “Dance to Eliminate.” During the dance they passed around baby bottle-shaped coin cans and collected loose change. These amazing high school students raised more than $784 in just two minutes, which will help protect more than 435 women and their future newborns from tetanus!

Key Club members throughout the country can Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF by visiting TheEliminateProject.org/TrickorTreat, where materials are available for order or download. If you raise just US$1.80 through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and The Eliminate Project this year, UNICEF can provide a series of three tetanus vaccine doses to protect a woman and her future newborns. If your club raises US$180, that protection extends to 100 women and their future newborns. And if your club raises and submits at least US$250 by December 31, you’ll be awarded a special banner patch. Additional recognition opportunities are available.

This year, we’re excited to announce a new feature: elementary school teachers can win a trip to the field to experience UNICEF’s lifesaving work firsthand. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel with UNICEF’s humanitarian field staff and bring your experiences back into the classroom.