Thousands of children around the world die every year due to reasons that may have been avoided. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works hard to radically reduce this amount by providing vaccines, healthcare, and educational support to millions of children and their families around the world. UNICEF is supported by other charitable organizations. In the US, the United States Fund for UNICEF is one of the largest charitable organizations that support the advocacies of UNICEF through different programs. 

The United States Fund for UNICEF is non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1947 by Helen Tradusa “Helenka” Adamowska-Pantaleoni, an actress and humanitarian. She is also one of the founding directors of the US Committee for UNICEF.  The U.S. Fund has several locations throughout the United States, mainly: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston. The headquarters can be found at Manhattan, New York City. 

In the United States, the U.S. Fund runs several campaigns to generate donations for UNICEF. Notable of which are: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, the longest running campaign; and the UNICEF Tap Project, a campaign with an objective to ensure that all the children around the world have access to clean drinking water. 

One of the most current U.S. Fund campaigns is Help Syria’s Children. It recognizes that the current situation in Syria posts a threat not only to the safety of children, but also to their rights for education, healthcare, and nutrition. 

Caryl Stern, current President and CEO of the United States Fund for UNICEF, recently released a book called “I Believe in ZERO”. The book contains information on how the U.S. Fund works to achieve its mission of reducing the number of preventable child deaths per day from 19,000 to zero. The book reflects the essence of their mission by telling stories of UNICEF’s work around the globe.