UNICEF raises money through Tap Project

Trick or treat! Students in Brookline didn’t just collect candy this Halloween but also raised awareness and collected donations in order to support the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Club.

Senior Sammy Guttell, one of the club’s leaders, has been a member of the club for almost two years and helped rebuild the club from the ground up. The UNICEF Club at BHS seizes every opportunity to help raise awareness for the organization.

Guttell feels strongly about making sure the club works productively to raise as much money as they can during the school year.

“We are currently doing the Halloween thing, which [means] we have to get in contact with every K-8 school, and we have to get the boxes out to every school for every grade,” Guttell said. “We also have to let them know that they can give the boxes back to us to give to UNICEF, to make sure they know we will act as the middle man between them and UNICEF.”

Students who received the boxes were responsible for asking for donations while they were out trick-or-treating on Halloween night.

“Last year, from just one school and one grade in that school – Heath 2nd grade – we got about $200,” Guttell said.

The club expects to raise more money than last year because they have expanded to promote awareness for other programs within UNICEF.

“I think this year we have decided that we are trying to donate to the Tap Project, which would come from all the money we get from the UNICEF boxes on Halloween,” Guttell said.

The Tap Project is a UNICEF program that encourages people to spend less time on their smartphones. For every 15 minutes people forgo their electronic devices, UNICEF will donate the equivalent of one day of water for one child in need.

“The TAP Project is a great project that provides clean water for suffering countries that are generally third world countries, or underdeveloped,” said senior Max Silverman.

The UNICEF Club just held their first meeting of the year and gained many new students from the club fair. Sophomore Anna Gee attended the first club meeting and was excited to get a glimpse of what the club does at the school.

“When I found out that there was a club at the highschool working with UNICEF, I was pretty intrigued and interested in joining because I wanted to learn how this club was helping the world and how the high school was contributing to that,” Gee said.

Gee admires the fact that the club works with an organization that strives to change the world.

“The club itself raises money and brings it to UNICEF, where the money is donated to different projects and associations that will help the community and the world. The organizations will help people get resources that aren’t available to them,” Gee said.

The UNICEF Club feels strongly that great success will come as a result of their new and upcoming projects.

“UNICEF is a growing club, and it will be a lot bigger in the future,” Silverman said. “We are making some pretty big strides right now, and I think the new members that have joined this year seem pretty excited to be in the club.”