My name is Anne Chamblee and I am an American Airlines Flight Attendant based at John F. Kennedy airport. I am a proud “Champion for Children” for UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines and volunteer my time while on the job to collect donations of foreign and domestic currency from AA customers to help UNICEF save children’s lives.

Amy Cedarburg is an international flight attendant and Champion for Children for UNICEF’s Change for Good Program on American Airlines at Miami International Airport (IMA).

Someone once wisely said, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Through the UNICEF field visit to Belize, I witnessed this first hand.

Our visit to the South Side of Belize City was exciting! We visited two schools to see the Child-Friendly School Initiative and an Adolescent Child- Friendly After School Center.  At the first school, we were treated to a top notch band session. They had been together less than a year, and they could read music and played fantastically! 

© Amy Cedarburg for U.S. Fund for UNICEF/2010

Amy Cedarburg and student at St. Luke Methodist Primary School in Belize City, Belize.

At the second school, the choir welcomed us with a heartwarming song, “Welcome to Belize”, which brought tears to our eyes. Often, these children will arrive early and stay late at school. They were eager to show their learning prowess via their music, reading, writing and picture taking abilities.

At a UNICEF-supported After School Center we visited, children have a safe haven to learn new skills and get help with their homework.  Adult activities have also been added to the curriculum, such as: baking and sewing classes for the women and lawn maintenance and gardening for the men. All around, it’s a center for the whole community!

Through my humbling experience in Belize, I’ve realized that my small part, through the Change for Good program has had an everlasting effect in our world’s village.  It truly is and should be about the world’s children!!

Proud to be a “Champion for Children” volunteer with UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines.

My time and energy has been well spent — collecting “Change for Good” has proven to be the best investment that I have ever made. Through volunteering as a “Champion for Children” for UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines at the Nashville Admirals Club, I got the chance to take a trip to Belize with other Champions to see the lifesaving difference that our collections of change from generous AA travelers are making for children.

Belize is making a wise investment in its children’s futures. I saw first-hand the UNICEF-supported model programs in the country, such as the early child development program “Roving Care Givers”, the “Baby Safe Hospitals” and the “Adolescent Friendly Spaces” after school programs. More than ever, I feel that Belizean children’s future is bright. The children that I spoke with have dreams and passion. They will be our Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Musicians, Singers, Historians, Pilots, Policemen and Politicians. They will carry the torch of a strong society long into future generations

The continued passion, dedication and enthusiasm surrounding the Change for Good

Timothy Legeros is a Domestic Flight Attendant with American Airlines, based in Boston. He decided to become a “Champion for Children” volunteer for the Change for Good program after a personal battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The support of his fellow flight attendants left him with a longing to repay the kindness and generosity that had been given to him. Helping raise money for Change for Good on American Airlines has given him an outlet to “pay it forward” to others who are less fortunate.

At first glance, Ana Bessy Zelaya looks like a typical teenager. She wears blue jeans and sneakers, and her hair is tied back with a barrette. She’s quiet and occasionally flashes a quick, shy smile. But her eyes carry a weariness that exceeds her 18 years.

Ana is the single mother of two young boys, Daniel, age five, and baby Julio. She supports the boys by selling clothes in a clamorous market in Honduras”’ capital city, Tegucigalpa. But the money is modest. And Ana used to worry how she would provide her sons with basic things: food, medicine, school. “Now,” she says. “I don’t worry.”

Thanks to an inventive, UNICEF-supported program, Ana’s oldest son, Daniel, gets food, health care, and an education

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