Charity Spotlight: UNICEF

If you are like me, there are so many charities in the world that, though their names are familiar to all of us, their purpose and mission had eluded us. No. Their purpose is not to relieve us of our hard-earned cash. That's the government's job. I thought it might be a good idea to spotlight some charities that we have all heard of, but whose purposes have largely escaped us. Today's charity is UNICEF:

Unicef, or the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11^th, 1946. It's purpose is to provide long term developmental and humanitarian assistance to children and mothers in impoverished and developing countries.

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• Unicef has currently focused it's energy on five priorities:
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• Young Child Survival and Development
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• Basic Gender education and equality
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• Protection from violence and sex crimes against children, including HIV and AIDS.
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• Policy development advocating children's rights across the globe.

  
  

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Since 1960 when a group of kids got together in Philadelphia and collected $17 to help post WW2 victims, the UNICEF trick or treat box has been a fixture of the American and Canadian trick or treat tradition. To date, the trick or treat program has collected approximately $91 million dollars in Canada and over $132 million in the U.S.

According to UNICEF's website, the reasons they are involved in this noble work are as follows:

Because:

Children have rights!

The world has set goals for children

Children demand a voice

Poverty reduction starts with children

The people of the world say 'Yes" for children

Children should not be dying from preventable causes.

While there are tons of charities around the world who have made children's issues their purpose, UNICEF is backed by the governments of the world. In 1965 Unicef was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2006 the organization garnered the Prince of Asturias Award, which is an annual award given in Spain to individuals or organizations that make notable achievements in sciences, humanities, or public affairs.

Public perception of UNICEF around the world is varied:

Many groups, governments and individuals throughout the years have publicly criticized UNICEF for choosing to assist in some venues and not others. The fact the UNICEF is not free to act of it's own volition, but rather is responsible to answer to the member governments of the United Nations limits the organization in what it may say regarding the treatment of children in member nations, and as such UNICEF has come under fire for favoritism and blindness to the crimes against children in the nations where speaking out could create a political nightmare. On the other hand, The fact that UNICEF is a United Nations organization, it has unique access to places in the world that are not as accessible for assistance from other child focused aid groups.

In the end, it's my opinion that they do what they can with what they have. Like all AID agencies, they have their upsides and their downsides, but if they are doing something, I can hardly fault them if I am doing nothing. When deciding who you will give your hard earned money to, I would suggest taking a closer look at UNICEF. It's an organization that has been tried and proven itself to be honest stewards of the trust given it by it's millions of annual donors. Of course, the best charity is always achieved one on one, but for those who wish their funds to be part of a larger effort, UNICEF might just be a possible place you will want to donate your care.

To learn more about UNICEF and how it's working to help children around the world to see a brighter tomorrow, visit their website at http://www.unicef.org.