UNICEF Survival Gifts for Christmas
byWhat I have learned over the years, through covering events like We Day in Vancouver, is that it’s equally important to give and act locally as well as globally. This Christmas, you can select a gift that will be much more than a box wrapped with a bow under the tree. You can help children in need of humanitarian assistance, from Syria, to the Central African Republic, Yemen and South Sudan, and beyond.
UNICEF Survival Gifts for Christmas
Canadians generously purchased 39,217 life-saving gifts, totalling more than $1.7 million in 2014
To inspire and motivate Canadian donors in their generous support of children through the organization’s Survival Gifts program, UNICEF recently launched an immersive storytelling series called UNICEF 360°.
A Canadian first in the non-profit realm, UNICEF 360° is a film series that aims to transport donors into the lives of some of the most vulnerable children across the globe – using the power of virtual reality. It gives Canadian donors a chance to see their life-saving and life-changing Survival Gifts at work in the field.
Made accessible and affordable through a simple cardboard virtual reality viewer, the viewer’s own smartphone and the virtual reality film content available at www.unicef360.com, this advanced storytelling experience provides a unique, deeply immersive perspective on the daily challenges faced by some of the world’s most vulnerable children and their families.
The UNIECF 360°virtual-reality viewer.
For a limited time, when donors purchase a featured Survival Gift, they will receive a free UNICEF 360°virtual-reality viewer.
This holiday season, UNICEF is calling on Canadians to continue their generous support of the Survival Gifts program to help reach even more children in Syria, and in other locations around the world. Survival Gifts can be bought online at survivalgifts.ca or by phone at 1-888-777-0380.
Survival Gifts most needed in Syria
- Emergency Gifts: Five Emergency Blankets to help protect children and families against cold temperatures ($46)
- Clean Water: 3,741 Water Purification Tablets provides ten families with enough clean drinking water for one year ($29)
- Education: School Essentials Bundle, provides 60 pencils and 30 exercise books and gives children a chance to learn ($19)
Image courtesy of UNICEF
Most popular Survival Gifts with Canadians
- Plumpy’Nut: These peanut-based, therapeutic food packs boost a malnourished child’s chance of survival. Canadians purchased more than 153,000 packets of Plumpy’Nut in 2014. Each gift is $12 and includes 21 packages of Plumpy’Nut, enough to help save the lives of seven children.
- Bed Nets: Canadians provided 8,952 bed nets in 2014 keeping children safe from malaria. For only $10, this gift provides two bed nets that help to protect four children from mosquito bites that cause malaria, one of the leading killers of children under age five.
- Vaccine Pack: Canadians provided 398,520 vaccines in 2014. Each gift is $44 and includes 58 tetanus vaccines, 58 measles vaccines and 58 polio vaccines that will guard against these life-threatening illnesses.
This season you can give the gift of nutrition, education, and even clean water to someone in need.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, they are active in over 190 countries – more than any other organization. Follow UNICEF Canada on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
