UNICEF & Halloween

Even thought I was raised by strict Muslim parents, we still celebrated Halloween as a child. Although Halloween was originally based on pagan rituals, and the Christians trying to remove these rituals by adding their own rituals to the mix, my parents really let us get away with joining our American friends in the silliness of dressing up and going door to door.

So when I had children of my own, I never really saw this holiday as one that was haram (an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred") but one thing I wanted to do with them was to make sure that they didn't just see it as a way to score on a lot of candy. I felt that between the parties at school, friend’s homes and candy at their dad’s work, there should be a lesson in giving on this day too. So a few years ago, I was walking around the mall and saw the UNICEF boxes at a Hallmark store. Knowing I wanted to teach my three daughters some value in their place on this earth, I thought that UNICEF would be a lesson to start. I found out that it is one of the longest-running youth initiatives in America, with more than $164 million raised to-date.

Our first year only yielded some change from the neighbors as we had never done this before and had to get them used to the idea of having money along with candy at the front door. Our second year, the girls did a lot better. This was the first time that baby sister (who was 3 at the time) had joined them and I think her cuteness helped the girls bring home $84.84. This year the girls were determined to go even higher. They checked out the numbers on the back of the boxes:
$.06 provides water for 1 thirsty kid
$2 provides nutrition for 1 hungry kid
$44 provides school supplies for 20 kids
$112 provides emergency blankets for 37 kids
$200 immunizes 550 kids against measles

So they set their sights on immunizations against measles. I told them that we would match whatever they brought home to help with their goal. They put on their costumes (the two older ones going as two female book characters, Hermione Grainger and Rowan Hood, while the youngest was just a cute witch) and set out with their orange boxes. I grabbed my cowboy hat to match my cowboy outfit and set out to lurk in the shadows and watch. I felt so proud when they would ring the bell and call out “Trick or Treat, we’re collecting change for UNICEF.” Many of our neighbors, especially the older ones, were so excited to see them. They would say “UNICEF! I remember doing that as a kid!” About halfway through our cold walk, I did get discouraged, when four houses in a row said no and one even “forced” them to take candy, by placing it in their hands and closing the door on them. But while I took my feelings to my Facebook wall, my girls just marched to the next house and rang the next doorbell.

They came home with $124.33 at the end of the night and were proud of their accomplishment. Me? I’ve learned that my daughters can be head strong in their goal setting and I’m so excited that they’ll go to school today to tell all their friends about all the money they raised to help other kids.