Let’s hear it for the Champions! For the fourth year in a row, American Airlines flight attendant volunteers and Admirals Club staff — known as “Champions for Children” — collected donations from generous American Airlines customers that totaled more than $1 million.
In all, $1,185,739.82 was raised in 2012 through UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines. A global campaign launched by UNICEF in 1987, Change for Good converts airline travelers’ donations of currency — dollars, Euros, pesos, reais — into lifesaving services for vulnerable children. American Airlines customers have donated nearly $9 million through Change for Good since 1994.

Many of us think that the crisis in Syria is a political one. But it is not — it is a humanitarian crisis, and it is among the biggest in the world. Over 2 million children are affected by the violence in Syria, and over half a million children are refugees. While UNICEF and its partners are doing everything they can to help affected children and families, UNICEF’s efforts are severely underfunded. If funding is not received in the next weeks, millions of children will suffer. We are urgently calling on the entire donor community to support UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts in and around Syria.

For over two years, the children of Syria have lived through shelling, endured trauma, missed out on school, fled their homes, and seen relatives die. In a recent editorial in the Toronto Star, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lane warns that “An entire generation of Syrian children and their families is at risk of being lost amidst the rubble.” The crisis in Syria is a true children’s crisis. And while UNICEF is committed to reaching Syrian families and children, the challenges remain enormous.

I am proud to report that the lives of women and children are improving in Rwanda.
Recently I took part in a panel discussion at an event held parallel to the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The talk highlighted the tremendous work that has been done to protect women and children from HIV and gender-based violence in Rwanda. What was truly amazing was the audience turnout, which left some without seats. Attendees had come from many different nations and organizations to gain more insight into what Zonta and UNICEF are doing in Rwanda to achieve an HIV-free generation by 2015.

Last month, I had the unique opportunity to be a part of the Franklin Park Zoo’s special programming for school vacation week. As a U.S. Fund for UNICEF Global Citizenship Fellow, I can’t think of a better way to teach young and old about the importance of water, and how to get involved with the UNICEF Tap Project.
Every day, nearly 4,000 children die from water-related illnesses. Today is World Water Day—please join the UNICEF Tap Project.

How do you stop an appalling epidemic? How do you protect children from victimization by child traffickers? According to Karin Heissler, UNICEF child protection specialist, providing support to vulnerable children and their families is key.
Heissler made her remarks earlier this month at a Minneapolis screening of the anti-trafficking documentary Not My Life. Hosted by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Midwest Regional Office, the event drew some 70 Minnesotans who were determined to learn more about an issue that is not always on everyone’s radar — despite having 5.5 million victims worldwide.