Mid-December may evoke thoughts of snowmen and sleigh bells, but for UNICEF’s Next Generation, it was all about Halloween. Though Hurricane Sandy caused us to postpone our Third Annual Masquerade Ball for six weeks, it didn’t stop people from dressing as their favorite superheroes—or from Believing in ZERO. Over 500 guests joined us at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

On May 31, a crowd of 300 young New York City professionals gathered in Tribeca’s R 20th Century Gallery for the 3rd Annual Photo Benefit hosted by UNICEF’s Next Generation. UNICEF’s Next Generation—a diverse group of young professionals, ages 21 to 40, who share a commitment to UNICEF’s future and a belief in zero—sold out the event, reaching its goal of raising both funds and awareness for the charity’s activities.

Being the mother of an almost four-year-old boy, I thought it was important that he start understanding how fortunate he is and that it is his civic responsibility to give back to those who are less fortunate. Philanthropy and compassion are things I believe can be instilled at a very young age. I wanted to do this in a way he could relate to and thought what better way than giving him an outlet to help other children around the world. I thought the UNICEF School-in-a-Box was the perfect introduction to UNICEF for preschoolers.

We are all excited to announce that UNICEF’s Next Generation has chosen its next project to raise $100,000 for the UNICEF Tap Project… water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in Togo, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Mauritania. With supporters like you, we are making a difference. The world has met the United Nations Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. Between 1990 and 2010, more than two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources. Yet 783 million people around the world do not have access to safe water and 2.5 billion—nearly HALF of humanity—live without proper sanitation. Help us promote and support the UNICEF Tap Project.

I’ve gotten to travel to Guatemala on behalf of UNICEF and have seen up close the work UNICEF does in providing children with the basics they need for survival. Still, inadequate sanitation, lack of safe water, malnutrition, and other causes continue to claim the lives of 21,000 young children every day around the world. What’s even more startling is that these are causes we know we can prevent. If you, like me, believe the number of children dying every day from preventable causes should be zero, you can help UNICEF save children’s lives by purchasing an Inspired Gift this holiday season. Multiple Micronutrient Powder, for example, is packed full of vitamins and minerals to give children the essential nutrients they need to thrive. Just $18.72 buys an impressive 561 sachets, and it only takes one sachet of this powder sprinkled over a child’s meal to keep that child safe from malnutrition.

We spent the final day of our visit to Ethiopia at the Hilina Enriched Foods Plant aka Peanut Heaven (to us)! As you’re all very aware, the Horn of Africa is currently experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis of our lifetime, and we were able to see up close and personal the extensive (yet very efficient) process to create one of the greatest innovations in the ready-to-use therapeutic feeding space, Plump’y Nut!