Joshua Bell started experimenting with music at age four, wrapping rubber bands around door handles and dressers and picking out tunes. His parents, both psychologists, thought it wise to encourage such behavior. Today, Bell is one of the most famous and well-respected violinists in the world; he is the recipient of innumerable awards and has […]
Travel can be an opportunity to have fun and to broaden your worldview, and many people now also see it as a chance to have a positive impact on a different part of the world. Voluntourism, the idea of traveling somewhere with the purpose of contributing to the greater good by volunteering there, is undoubtedly […]
THE BASICS On Saturday, April 16, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of Ecuador. The event is said to be the largest disaster that Ecuador has seen in decades, according to BBC, with more than 600 people killed and thousands that are injured or still missing. The destruction is devastating, with hundreds of collapsed buildings and […]
Every 20 seconds around the world, a child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. One in 5 children globally does not have access to the vaccines they need to survive. “Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to help kids grow into adults,” says former Ambassador John Lange, who now serves as the […]
Zika has been all over the news lately and has raised some serious concern, especially for women in their childbearing years. Authorities in some South American countries like El Salvador, Colombia and Ecuador have even gotten to the point where they suggest no one have children over the next two years while they are […]
Concern Worldwide, a charity based in Dublin, Ireland, has dramatically improved the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people on earth. Witnessing and participating in this impactful work has forever altered Dolores Connelly, a board member of Concern USA, the U.S. branch of Concern Worldwide. Some 13 years ago, Dolores’ sister worked […]
Juan Vaglienty remembers very clearly the first time his toddler daughter, Amelia, spotted and grabbed an object. Amelia, now five, was two at the time. Vaglienty had placed a toy, a musical, blinking robot encased in a clear plastic ball, on Amelia’s breakfast tray. As the ball spun, emitting light and music, “we saw her […]
As a child, Kim K. W. Rucker trick-or-treated for UNICEF. But she never fully realized the reach and importance of the worldwide organization until last October, when she attended UNICEF Chicago’s Humanitarian Awards luncheon. “The event was just amazing,” says Rucker, an attorney and executive. The luncheon included a keynote address by Susan Bissell, then […]
On Thursday March 3rd, 230 students from Budlong Elementary, on Chicago’s Northwest side, got active wearing their UNICEF Kid Power bands. The day full of fun kicked off Chicago’s Kid Power Month (Feb 29-Mar 25), a challenge to get kids active to save lives. Students participated in a pep rally with a special surprise appearance by […]
Over the past few years, fundraising websites have leapt en masse to the forefront of the donating world. Although early iterations such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter, originally created to support funding of the arts, have been around for nearly a decade, newer sites like GoFundMe and YouCaring have become effective ways for people to finance […]
