For what age range(s) is this celebration most appropriate?
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

This Halloween celebration is:
Fun

This Halloween celebration can be done:
Either indoors or outdoors

This celebration can be done:
With the entire neighborhood
At school or other community facility
With/through a specific organization or group

How much time does it take to prepare for this celebration?
It depends on how elaborate you want to make it

How much does this celebration cost?
This celebration doesn't cost anything.

Describe your Halloween celebration idea:
Children have been helping other children, via UNICEF collections at Trick or Treat time, for 50 years. In 1950, a youth group collected $17, using decorated milk cartons, and used the money to help children overseas.

As the web site states, "the funds raised help UNICEF provide medicine, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education and emergency relief to millions of children in more than 160 countries and territories."

www.unicefusa.org

The little colorful boxes are distributed through participating merchants, by ordering online, or can be downloaded and printed (you color your own, and back w/cardboard, or use card stock in printer).

What steps should be taken to organize this celebration?
(Cost depends on activities you undertake, but the traditional Trick or Treating boxes aren't a cost item.)

It sort of depends what you'd like to do. It can go beyond Trick or Treating, to include bake sales, car washes, read-a-thons and dances, etc., during the month of October. It's a good outlet for youthful enthusiasm, and broadens a child's perspective on the world.

Additional comments:
My daughter went out for about an hour with a UNICEF box and collected a respectable amount of contributions right in her own neighborhood. She's nearly 13, and w/orthodontic braces, can't have most of the candy on Halloween night anyway! ;-) It's hard to give up Trick or Treating entirely; we turned that li'l negative into doing something Positive for someone else.

She wore a sort of a costume: a Halloween sweatshirt and some goofy earrings, and a big smile.
She didn't carry a treat bag, but some of our neighbors insisted she have something anyway. She came home with about a dozen or so soft candy bars. (So, if you are trick or treating for this among good friends, Pockets can be practical!)

What my daughter heard over and over again from adults was "my goodness! I haven't seen one of those boxes in years!" People were pretty cheerful about it, and only one person had not heard of this tradition and organization.

My daughter was accompanied by her father. I doubt I could feel secure about sending a child of any age about at night, especially carrying Money; that's sort of like asking to be mugged...even in good neighborhoods. Anyway, after the contributions are collected, parents can add their own contribution if they wish, and just send a check for the total to the address listed on the collection box. There are other methods of sending in the donations, which are detailed online.

There are two sets of Free educational kits: one for grades K-6, and the other for grades 7-12. Those can be ordered via the website.