Giving circle a first for Malibu; raises funds for children’s organization.
By Cortney Litwin/Staff Writer
A tremendous show of community spirit raised more than $2,900 for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) at a Halloween carnival on Saturday, and much of the credit for its success goes to a new local group-the Malibu Women’s Giving Circle.
Carol Levy of Malibu brought the women’s circle-comprised of about 25 women from West Los Angeles-to Malibu last June. Ze Shapiro, who owns the children’s store 98% Angel, had the idea for a carnival, and together with three other local residents and business owners who joined the circle-Melissa Moore, Meegan Knight and Maggie Pierson-put together the fundraiser for UNICEF.
Children dressed up as princesses, heroes, monsters and animals streamed into the carnival at the Malibu Country Mart to participate in pumpkin and T-shirt decorating, tattooing and face painting. There was an assortment of baked goods available, and strung across the entrance were drawings from local second-graders.
Levy, who is a board member for the Los Angeles chapter for the U.S. UNICEF Fund, said the event would be an annual affair and hopes the circle will expand to other areas.
It began with the goal of raising $500 each for UNICEF.
“We set a price that we-each one of us-would raise by the end of the year,” Pierson said as she tended a busy booth, where children decorated pint-sized pumpkins with feathers, pipe cleaners, eyeballs and insects.
“This is awesome,” exclaimed Katie Scolari Borden, regional manager for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. Her eyes scanned the crowd of costumed children as she spoke, obviously pleased at the turnout.
“It’s the first year we’ve done this and the community support has been wonderful.”
She said the circle got the donations and did the decorations for the fundraiser. “We hope to make this a yearly event.”
The carnival brought UNICEF to light in Malibu. Levy said it was difficult getting Malibu residents to give to the cause.
“They didn’t know what it was about,” she explained. The Halloween carnival “was a way to get the community involved.”
Kids Helping Kids is UNICEF’S theme. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is an annual activity for the organization, when children go to door-to-door on Halloween with orange UNICEF boxes, asking for donations of cash. These boxes are available at retailers such as Ralph’s, Food 4 Less, IKEA, Sears Portrait Studios and McDonalds.
All the money raised by Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF will go toward eradicating polio, with the goal to eliminate the disease by 2005.
According to UNICEF’s Web site, “It costs just $1 to protect a child from polio for life,” and though the United States has been polio-free since 1979, and the region of the Americas was certified polio-free in 1994, there are many children in other countries still at risk for the highly infectious disease.
Polio has no cure and is only prevented by vaccine.