Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

I remember Trick-or-Treating when I was a child in Chicago, and I clearly remember running from house to house with my one hand holding to my candy bag, and the other holding my Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF carton. I remember learning how collecting coins on Halloween was going to help children in other countries, and although they seemed very far away, I liked the idea that there were kids just like me that I was able to help by having fun while thinking of them.

Back in the 1960s we got these little orange boxes in school to take with us on Halloween. Mine was about the size of a juice box. I went out without a candy bag and come back to school with my box taped together because it was full of coins.

What a great way to teach us about those less fortunate.

I have some pictures from our 2008 campus "Trick-or-Treat" for UNICEF that I would be happy to share, if you can let me know how. Students in our Syracuse University "International Relations Learnign Community" wanted to help support UNICEF's child soldier rehabilitation program, after reading A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier and meeting the author, Ishmael Beah.

Dr. D'Amico

Over the past decade, my high school Latin students have enjoyed and looked forward to the annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. In our city, they are deemed too old to trick-or-treat for candy, but they very much love reliving the fond memories of doing so via your program. They also spend some quality time with their younger siblings by accompanying them trick-or-treating. What a marvelous gift the Reverend Allison gave to so many--those who have benefitted from the proceeds as well as those who help to raise them!

At age 37, I've been a regular supporter of Unicef for many years now. As a fundraiser myself (for an art museum in Washington, DC) I know the power of philanthropy. My family is, well, not particularly philanthropic, although they are loving and giving in other ways. So when I think about what inspired my life choice to both raise and contribute philanthropic funds, I know that Trick or Treat for Unicef played a major role. As a child, I felt empowered to do something to improve the lives of others. That feeling stays with me today, and when I pass, I've made arrangements for it to continue. THANK YOU for lighting this lantern of giving within me.

P.S. Last year my 11 month old daugher Trick or Treated for Unicef. She loved playing with the box!

$148 million, wow! Amazing how a little idea can grow to become a conduit for so much good. Let's all be inspired to carry his legacy on and spread it to others! Thanks Rev.!!

Hearfelt condolences to the family of Reverend Allison.

My fondest memories of Trick or Treating for UNICEF still warm my heart. I believe Trick or Treating for UNICEF began in the 1950's when I was a very young girl, growing up in NYC.

I would Trick or Treat, using a large pillow case to hold my candy as well as a milk carton, wrapped in a "Trick or Treat for UNICEF" orange wrapper. Even as a young child, I always felt the importance of doing something meaningful for others less fortunate. Collecting for UNICEF was my way of giving something back.

Eternally bless Reverend Allison for founding a great way for children to make a difference in the world!

Our 5th grade teacher started my long road of knowing UNICEF and Fair Trade. Had he not taken the time to educate us in the late 50's the information would have been so much harder to obtain. I will always respect and appreciate him for that as it change my life from then on! My first year trick or treating for UNICEF didn't yield much candy as I was busy explaining why and what I wanted money in a box for? Most people had not heard of such a thing and frankly thought it was a kid's scam to get rich! My throat was sore from explaining but my spirit's were high as my box jingled when I ran to the next house. By the time my brother and I were to be home that evening, my box wasn't full by any means, but it was the start to something wonderful, something so amazing, I just knew it would pick up speed and roll down hill to capture the lives of others. Here we are so many years later and I can honestly say UNICEF and all the hard working Fair Trade folks out there changed my life for the better and I am forever grateful for that. Thank you for your Time.

What a profound message of caring and peace Trick-or-Treat-for-Unicef has given to two generations of children.

I loved collecting Trick or Treat for Unicef when I was a girl, and now I encourage my 7-year-old son to participate. My son and I both learned at an early age that our small efforts, combined with those of thousands of others, can not only change lives but save them. This program is a gift to the children who collect the coins as well as the children who are helped by the donations.

Thank you, Reverend Allison.

What a wonderful tradition the Rev Allison started with his children! And I am confident that the tradition will continue for many more generations. God is surely pleased to welcome this saintly man into heaven!

With my thanks and blessings to the family......

I never knew where the concept of trick or treating for Unicef came from, I am so delighted to know. And I am grateful that someone like the Reverend took the time to think outside the box and created such a wonderful legacy. I collected for Unicef for years as a child and then again as a parent of three boys. In our church we would gather at the end of the evening(Halloween) and the children would march up the aisle with their boxes with the congregation applauding their efforts. Something so simple grew to make an enormous impact. Many thanks and peace be with you all. SCB

Thank you, Rev. Allison. I have memories of Trick or Treat for UNICEF as a child growing up in Central Florida, and I have passed this tradition on to my own children, as well as my students.
My experience has consistently been that when even young children hear how little money it takes to vaccinate or otherwise help a child in developing countries, they feel empowered. When the boxes come back to school,students are eager to hear what they have accomplished as a class or school.
Also, when I have taken my own children out with their boxes, someone who opens a door invariably comments on how they remember Trick or Treat for UNICEF when they were children - and how happy they are to see that someone is continuing this tradition. What a validation for my children to hear this from someone other than their mother!
Thank you to Rev. Allison's family,and to all of those who embraced and spread this idea. You are proof again of what Margaret Mead so famously said: It is always a small group of people who embark on a journey that changes the world.

My condolences to Reverend Allison's family.

I was one of those early Trick-or-Treaters in the late 1950s in Philadelphia. I remember the thrill of collecting over $7.00 in my box the first time when I was in 5th grade and being recognized in front of the whole school for my efforts! Of course, most of the money came from my own piggy bank.

Next month, I will be retiring from a 38 year teaching career and have led my students to collect over $55,000 for UNICEF as a school project for 25 of those years. My own children were inspired to start a collection in their school too. What a wonderful way for even the youngest to learn about helping others in need.

thank you to the Reverend, and I have always thought of halloween as first, unicef. then, candy.

what a wonderful legacy he leaves behind.
my condolences to all his family.

Please accept my deepest condolences for your loss. The legacy that Reverend Allison has left is one that will carry on for years to come. Because of his work, many children world-wide will receive the needed food, education, and vaccinations that are so needed and appreciated.

My own children participate in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF every year. The gift Reverend Allison has given them is one that they will carry with the rest of their lives. My children have learned that community service is an honor....that it is an honor to give back to their community, their country, and their world. They learned, through the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program, that giving your time, energy, money and talents are truly needed in our world....and they have learned to be better people because of it.

Again, to the family of Reverend Allison, please accept my deepest condolences for your loss. May our Lord bless you all...and continue to bless the children that Reverend Allison so loved.

He left behind a wonderful legacy and he will always be remembered on trick or treating for UNICEF. Please accept our condolences to his family and his UNICEF family!

For 24 years, I got all the children in my school involved every year with Trick or Treat for UNICEF. I used it as a way to teach about respectful and specific ways to help children in other parts of the world, of our mutual connection. We raised about $1500 each year. I'm so grateful. My condolences to the family of Rev. Allison.

I remember fondly collecting pennies for UNICEF in the orange boxes when I was a child in the late 60s and early 70s. Because of these memories, I went online last Halloween and ordered boxes for my son and his friends. He loved collecting money as well and almost everyone had their own memories of the orange UNICEF boxes.

Rev.Allison was truly a man of vision.
My prayers for his family.
Halloween and UNICEF always went hand in hand.
May the Rev.Allison's legacy of love touch all
future generations!

Trick or treating for UNICEF was an amazing social justice action - when you are only nine years old! It was difficult to ask for money. I remember that clearly. I remember the pride of handing in that little milk carton and knowing that somewhere a child was going to be better off because of me.

Today, I run a service learning program for 320 elementary school children - as a volunteer. Every time these kids make a difference in their community, their pride and effectiveness as citizens simply grows.

Our family also traveled to Kenya in 2007 to help build a school. It seems so unreal on television and video. The needs of children in our world is very real.

Reverand Allison and family - you have truly dropped a pebble in a great body of water. Thank you.

When I was a child my Mother was active in many community activities. One of these was Trick or Treat for UNICEF. Each year at Halloween we dressed up and went out with our canisters. Later we gathered at one of the local churches for a party, complete with lots of candy and games. It is truly one of my fondest memories and part of what still reminds me to contribute to UNICEF each year.

I've been trick-or-treating for UNICEF the last 3 years of my high school life. In my junior year, I created a club dedicated to arts & crafts, and began offering members club credit for participating in the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program. Each Halloween we are raising double the funds, and will still continue long after I graduate this June (my younger sister will be taking over the club). I hope to motivate more people to raise funds for UNICEF during my time at college.

My condolences to Reverend Allison's family

On behalf of children of Apecos Association taking care of the HIVAID orphans in Burundi say that we are deeply affected by this death.

His love and actions have no limit African children and specially Burundi are receiving help from Unicef affecting the improvement of their lifes.

We pray that God may receive him in his hands

Benoit MUHIMUZI
Vice_President
APECOS Burundi

I just have begun to participate in Trick or Treat for UNICEF this year, but I feel that I have learned so much from this simple act of fundraising and kindness. Reverend Allison is truly one that the world will miss; in that he started something so lasting that has helped millions around the world. Ever since I was a child, I knew that I wanted to "save the world," but I didn't know how. UNICEF was always in the back of my mind as a possibility, but never a reality. I thought I was too young to volunteer and felt that giving money was never enough. Trick of Treat for UNICEF opened so many doors for me and made me realize the extent to which UNICEF helps children around the world today. With the weekly emails and friendly reminders I am encouraged to remember the less fortunate everyday. With this knowledge, I can inspire others just as this program has inspired me.

Thank you Reverend Allison for giving me the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful program. You will be missed.

I would like to extend my sympathy to Reverend Allison's family. I remember Trick or Treating for UNICEF as a pre-teen and even then, knew I was doing something very special. Look at the amount of money generated by one man's idea! It's nice to know, after all these years, who was behind this great program. Many thanks and Godspeed Rev. Allison!

We owe a debt of gratitude to Rev. Allison and his family for initiating the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program. As a child, I remember collecting funds in the mini milk boxes. Several years later, in the Fall of 1964, as a student intern from Antioch College, I had the opportunity to COUNT all the incoming coins at the U. S. Committee for UNICEF in New York City. Happy Memories!

My neighbors and I collected coins on Halloween for UNICEF. I don't know how much was collected, but felt children were being helped.

Children and Youth of the church I attend have been Trick or Treating for UNICEF for a number of years. I give boxes to parents whose children will participate.

Thank you, Reverend Allison for creating such a meaningful effort. My sympathies to your friends and family.

I actually first learned about Trick-or treat for UNICEF when I was about 11 years old reading a Judy Blume book. It was too late for me to participate at the time since I was no longer allowed to go out on Halloween, but I vowed that my future kids would join in. We've now gone out trick-or-treating for UNICEF for the last 5 holidays since my son was born, and this last year my 3 year old daughter loved asking for help for other kids. It really shows how one small action of kindness and generosity can become something so much bigger.

I Love Unicef! I Think it is a Wonderful Cause! :) I would like to get several of boxes sent to me so that I can do a Large Collection with all of my employees and neighbor's as well as my children and their. Will someone from unicef Please Send me a Contact info e-mail letter on How to go about this? Thank You Kindly! & All My Love, Thought's & Support, God Bless! Susan K. Lapp XOXO....

Thank you Rev. Allison for creating the Trick-or-Treat for Unicef.
I started it a years ago, when my elementary school was giving them out. I was excited for giving to a larger cause. Unlike other charities, many of them needed checks, and when you're only 10 years old, checks are a not a common thing to have. For this, I could give in my dimes, pennies, and quarters strait from my piggy bank. I felt like I was helping a larger cause. On the back of the box said, "5 cents for a book for a child", and I just sat there adding nickels to the box, counting how many children I just gave books to. Now, I am in other charitable events, much larger then this, like the AIDs walk or the Avon walk for breast cancer.
I believe she, brought out the philanthropist in everyone. When children feel they can help, they can later learn of great morals. Rev. Allison gave me a lesson I will never forget. I hope she will rest in peace knowing she helped thousands of people, to gain educations, food and water. I hope we can all remember her by continuing this event for the rest of our lives.

Many thanks to Reverend Allison and his children for creating a wonderful tradition of children giving to other children during Halloween, which could only be just a selfish candy grabbing event, save for the addition of UNICEF collection boxes. I still remember very fondly my UNICEF boxes during my childhood; perhaps that is what started my belief and practice in always giving something to others less fortunate than ourselves. It shows how one person can make such a difference in the lives of others!

i just statarted doing this 2 years ago and last year 2008 my school and i raised over $400.00, I give sympathies to the family of Reverend Allison and i hope he rests in peace.

i just statarted doing this 2 years ago and last year 2008 my school and i raised over $400.00, I give sympathies to the family of Reverend Allison and i hope he rests in peace.

I would like to extend my sympathy to the family.

His dream lives on in our school. ALBA School in Milwaukee, WI has been doing Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF since we opened up the school in 2002. All the children and families are involved and it has been become a big event where the students from K3 to 5th grade feel empowered to help the ones in need. Thank you for starting and being part of something so big that makes a positive change!

Trick or Treat for UNICEF. The little orange boxes, is what I remember from 40 years ago and they still are going strong! It is only one of two charitable organizations that I remember from my childhood. What a wonderful charity! Thank you Reverand Allison for making a memory for me :)Thoughts and prayers and memories are with your family and friends.

Deepest condolences to the family of this wonderful man! While it is sad to lose such an individual, it gives us an opportunity to learn about him and celebrate his wonderful contribution.

Growing up, my mom organized Trick or Treat for UNICEF in my town in all the schools. She would put up the posters, plaster the boxes in local businesses, and each year would go to each school to make presentations, showing UNICEF videos and declaring that even though we were kids, we had the power to make a big difference if we worked together.

Every year after all the boxes were returned, it was our job to count all the money raised. It was so inspiring to see a few coins and bills spill out of each box, but accumulate into thousands of dollars! A great visual of how each person really does make a difference.

At my 5 year high school reunion a few years ago, a boy who would have been the last to pay attention to these things came up to me and told me that any time he did anything to help someone else, he thought back to my mom and Trick or Treat for UNICEF and knew that was where the instinct to help came from and gave me a big hug to pass along to my mom. I am passing along that hug and gratitude to Reverend Allison and his family for creating this program and for all the lives he touched. Thank you, Thank you!

Sorry Rev. Allison died. Many children like your idea of using boxes. Even adults like the publicity of using them to decorate tables for Halloween and put in donations as well as taking up a special collection. Mabel Holmes

I just wanted to say what a blessing it was to have Reverend Allison in our lives. I thank God for his gift and all the Reverend was able to do in his lifetime. The gift he gave the children and the gift he gave us and allowing us to help him in his work.

Trick or Treating for UNICEF has been a time honored tradtion in my life. As a child I remember trying to fill up my donation box as much as possible so I could proudly hand it in the next day at school. As a teacher I have enjoyed passing the tradition on to a whole new generation of kids at the school I teach at. I am sure Reverend Allison and his family are VERY proud that they starting something that has helped so many people across the world. Trick or Treating for UNICEF is yet another example of how one great idea can make a world of difference.

Reverend Allison’s vision harnessed the goodness and kindness that is inherent in children everywhere. He understood that childhood is sacred, and time-sensitive. It does not wait for wars to be resolved, water systems to be built or AIDS to be cured. Our actions must reflect the urgency of this reality and continue the work begun by Reverend Allison. Young people are not merely the recipients of assistance, they are also the voice and power behind transformational changes in our world. Thank you, Reverend Allison, let us continue to honor your legacy.
With heartfelt condolences to the entire Allison Family...

happy halloween to all and may god bless each one of us to reduce our problemm. trick or treat

I remember Trick- or-Treat for UNICEF was one of the early projects for our youth group at church in 1957. I have been active in this event each year since that. Now I have my personal box that gets change sitting in my kitchen. When It gets full I count it up and send a donation to UNICEF. When I was UNITED Nations Chairman from GFWC from '04-'06 I passed out quite a few Trick or treat boxes to be filled. This will always be a project I will encourage people to participate in every year.

Monroe Allison, Reverend Allison's son, asked us to share this note with you:

The Allison family thanks you for your warm and comforting words. And we want to especially thank those of you who contributed to the memorial fund in Rev. Allison’s name. I am Rev. Allison’s son. In as much as I miss my father so very much and it is so difficult to acknowledge that I cannot have another conversation with him, I still feel very blessed. He lived to be 91. I was able to be a part of his life for over 61 years. I thank him with all of my heart for enriching my life and being my father. I will always be his son.

"I will tell you about something that my father did with three of his friends when he was seventeen years old. My father was born and raised in China. His parents were Presbyterian missionaries. Both of them were educators. My grandfather was a professor at the largest seminary in northern China. And my grandmother tutored and raised funds for the women’s high school that was on the same campus. These schools were located in the ancient and beautiful city of Tenghsien, which is now called Tengzhou City. Most of the faculty were Chinese. There were less than 10 American or European families on the compound. Most of my father’s friends and playmates were Chinese. My father loved China. He proudly considered himself both American and Chinese. When he visited China in 1977 he filled out by himself in Chinese the visas for my mother and himself. He took classes to learn the new simplified system of writing. When he arrived in China the Chinese government was surprised to discover that this native born man was a Westerner. My father speaks Mandarin with a strong regional Shandong accent. So it was a little like a Chinese person speaking English with a Brooklyn accent. The officials did not question that he was born in China, but they did not want Westerners having free access to everywhere either. After a mild rebuke my mother and he were on their way. They were denied permission to visit just one place on their itinerary.

My father went to high school at the Pyongyang Foreign School in Korea. It was a boarding school for Americans that prepared its students to go to the best US colleges. My father was very well educated. He graduated from high school in 1935 when he was seventeen. Upon graduation he and all of his classmates were given a sum of money to cross the Pacific Ocean by ship to get to San Francisco plus the railroad fare to get to the towns where their colleges were from there. The key factor here was that they were given money and not the tickets. My father and three of his classmates decided that they would get to the US by going around the world the other way. Rather than cross the Pacific Ocean they would travel through the forest of Siberia, the Russian steppe, the Ural Mountains, Eastern Europe, Germany, France and England and then across the Atlantic Ocean to the US. My father was a good storyteller. That requires that the speaker to be in control and tell the events as he experienced it. My role in the family was to be the pragmatist. So my mind was always full of “How did… and is that what you wanted to happen” questions. When I asked them they usually caused a pained expression to come over my father’s face. So I knew that that was not where he wanted this story to head. It was out of bounds to ask questions like did you have enough money, or did you run out of money.

All four of them had the adventure of their life. They could not have had a better coming of age experience. They had challenges and they met them. Here are some of the highlights from their trip.

1) Their train derailed in Siberia.
2) They saw massive forest fires in Siberia and no effort was made to extinguish them.
3) They unsuccessfully tried to sell US dollars at the higher black market rate in the Yaroslavsky Terminal in Moscow.
4) They saw official motorcades racing through the streets of Berlin that may have included Hitler.
5) They took a lovely cruise down the Rhine River into Switzerland.
6) Wanting more spending money in London they worked for tips at Paddington Station until the real porters ran them off. One of them, but it was not my dad, made enough money to buy a ticket to Wimbledon, which was their goal.

I think that gives you some sense as to who my father was. There are many more stories that I would like to tell. But it is more important to tell about the birth of “Trick or Treat for UNICEF”. I think that my parents wanted to make Halloween more fun. They knew that it wasn’t the candy that made Halloween special. It was children dressing up in costumes and seeing people delighted and entertained by what they were wearing. When their friends or strangers would giggle and make an appreciative comment about their costume it was glorious. My parents thought long and hard about how to make that feeling of a child’s self-satisfaction even more intense as well as children in foreign lands whose lives were at risk. And the answer was to give the children a mission. And it was a very bold and serious one, which was to help other children in dire need. Children could not only feel clever or silly they would actually improve other children’s lives.

This next Halloween will be “Trick or Treat for UNICEF”‘s 59th anniversary. Over the years millions of children dressed up in costumes, proudly wrapped their orange and black arm bands around their biceps and with their official collection boxes went out into the streets, or door to door and asked adult strangers for donations. The Allison family thanks every one of them. Over the years hundreds of thousands adult volunteers organized and prepared these collecting events. The Allison family thanks every one of them. And the Allison family thanks everyone on the staff of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF who provides the support and facilitated the success of “Trick or Treat for UNICEF” every year. In the early 50’s when “Trick or Treat for UNICEF” was just a new born baby, and UNICEF itself wasn’t much older or stronger, Rev. Allison would go on speaking engagements to teach and encourage organizations to “Trick or Treat for UNICEF” for the upcoming Halloween. Others participated in this as well. The support that they got was enormous. It was phenomenally successful from the get go. My father was pleased with this. So much money was raised that UNICEF was able to grow and to expand its mission. UNICEF became a powerhouse in fighting hunger, disease and ignorance. My dad did not see this as an accomplishment. He saw it as a noble effort. His hopes and prayers were that UNICEF would grow larger so that it meets more of the needs. It is a beyond a tragedy today when a child dies of starvation or diarrhea. These deaths are easy to prevent. Nor is it costly. We cannot say well done until every child is safe and has access to education. The UNICEF family is leading the charge. It is also determined. The forces of goodwill are never weak. We are the strength of the world.

With Deep Appreciation to You All,
Monroe Allison