Volunteer Opportunities & Worthy Cause of the Week: Trick or Treat for Unicef

Posted by Tisha in Featured, Very Worthy Causes | ∞

WORTHY CAUSE OF THE WEEK

Trick-or-Treat for Unicef

Other than insuring that my kids don’t eat pounds of candy or stay out too late participating in spooky fun and games with their friends, I don’t do much Halloween preparation or planning.

I must admit that I was one of those kids who would just as soon skip right over Halloween and head straight for Christmas and the gifts under the tree. However, I can’t say the same thing about my kids. My girls start thinking about their costumes each year the moment they finish trick-or-treating.

One great reason to embrace and celebrate Halloween, though, is the opportunity to go Trick-or-Treating for Unicef. My husband and I have taken our girls to do many volunteer activities around the Los Angeles area, but for some reason, we’ve neglected to add Unicef to our list up til now. But thanks to the Global Team of 200, I was recently reminded of this wonderful cause and how we could so easily come together as a family to do something fun and at the same time, contribute to helping others in a truly meaningful way.

Your kids are going Trick-or-Treating anyway, why not use this time as a teachable moment and offer them the chance to see up close how even small actions can have a big impact on the world around them?

And this is a great time to get involved with Trick-or-Treat for Unicef – for the first time in the 62-year campaign history, those trick-or-treating for UNICEF are invited to submit original designs for their own collection boxes. Submitted designs will have a chance to be part of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’s 2013 limited edition collection. A winning design from each category (children ages 4-8, 9-12, and 13 years and older) will be chosen and announced on Halloween, Oct. 31. The Create-a-Character contest will run from September 1 through October 26.

Watch the Video Below to Learn More About Trick-or-Treating for Unicef:

LOCAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Big Sunday Calendar: Lots of volunteer opportunities, non-profit events and food drives to choose from.

L.A. Works: Volunteer action center that creates and implements hands-on community service projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area. L.A. Works makes volunteering easy, fun, and convenient.

4Good: Wonderful organization that promotes and facilitates opportunities for families to volunteer together with their kids.

Free Arts for Abused Children: Free Arts has four thriving cornerstone programs, each of which relies heavily on the dedication of community volunteers who use art as a bridge to connect with vulnerable children and to help families in crisis.

Food on Foot: Food on Foot is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax-ID#31-1581053) dedicated to providing the poor and homeless of Los Angeles with nutritious meals, clothing, and assistance in the transition to employment and life off the streets.

Food on Foot operates a weekly meal program every Sunday in Hollywood. Check their website for meet times and to sign up.

BLOGGING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

#GIVINGTUESDAY: #GivingTuesday is a day to celebrate giving – a day when families, charities, businesses, community centers, students, retailers and more can come together to encourage more, better and smarter giving during the holiday season. #GivingTuesday will take place on November 27, 2012 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Our hope is #GivingTuesday will show that America gives as good as it gets – and how Americans can do much more with our wallets than just consume. Most important, #GivingTuesday is not a new giving platform; it’s an idea. No matter what you do or where you are, you can make #GivingTuesday your own. Tell us what you plan to do to give back using the hashtag #GivingTuesday.

Start Participating Here - Like #GivingTuesday on Facebook and share your ideas. Follow @GivingTues on twitter and use the #GivingTuesday hashtag.

Blog for Obama: Social Media sprint in support of President Barack Obama’s campaign for re-election! If you’re a blogger, join the Google Group sprint to Election Day AND help voters get registered via your site with this easily embedded voter registration widget.

This is an invite only list for bloggers and social media influencers to come together in the last month of Election 2012 to re-elect President Obama. In this group you’ll get daily updates from the campaign, special invitations to calls and on the ground events, and essential news and get out the vote (GOTV) information. If you have questions, please contact Morra@wearewomenonline.com.

SUPPORT GREAT CHARITIES & WORTHY CAUSES

Team UP for a Healthy America: Become an Ambassador of Fitness. Ambassadors of Fitness are teaming up to make a difference in the overall health of our children. For each pledge, Team Up donates $1 to help schools in need of fitness and athletic equipment, so ambassadors do a lot to promote their cause of stopping childhood obesity. Take the pledge today and become an Ambassador of Fitness!