Kiwanis-family members Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

Since 1994, Key Club has been Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF and has raised nearly $5 million for iodine deficiency programs worldwide and HIV and AIDS programs in Kenya and Swaziland. This year’s Trick-or-Treat donations will benefit Operation Uruguay: Protecting the Rights of Children. The goal is to raise $1.5 million.

Even though the population of Uruguay is small compared to other countries in the region, nearly half a million of the country’s children and adolescents live in poverty. The situation is especially serious in the case of adolescents living outside the capital, Montevideo , where the lack of opportunity and space for participation and recreation contribute to poverty, social exclusion, high rates of school dropout and failure and teen pregnancy. Funds raised by Key Clubbers—as well as Builders Clubs and K-Kids Clubs that partner with Key Club—will help reduce the social vulnerability factors for those adolescents under the most critical situations (living on the streets, lack of education, job opportunities, and social services).

Specifically, funds will be used to support the Mandalavos Center, a pilot project started in 2008 that works on a local level to ensure the rights of youth to education, health and basic services and family support; and to create new centers to ensure the rights of all youth to education, health, protection, access to public services and family support.

All centers focus on specific strategies to help Uruguayan “street children” reintegrate into the community: school support, intervention to reduce social vulnerability factors, empowerment of families, healthy attitudes and behavior, participation and communication skills and socio-cultural activities and building a positive image.

All United States-based Key Clubs received a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF fundraising kit in mid-September. The kit includes a poster, stickers, a DVD and the famous orange collection boxes. Additional kits are available by contacting Member Services at 800-KIWANIS, ext. 411.

Learn more about Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Visit the UNICEF Web site
Visit the UNICEF United States Fund Web site
Watch a video featuring the Key Club ambassadors to UNICEF and the Mandalavos Center