UNICEF Gifts Provide the Chance to Save a Life this Mother's Day

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Apr 16, 2012, 10:20 ET

NEW YORK, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year shoppers can purchase a Mother's Day gift that delivers health and happiness to children and families in need. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is pleased to announce a wide selection of lifesaving items available in the UNICEF Inspired Gifts collection and the UNICEF cards and gifts spring catalog. By purchasing from this assortment, shoppers can support UNICEF's work and make a difference for children around the world.

"This Mother's Day, people have the opportunity to give mothers and children outside their own families hope for the future," said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern. "Proceeds from every gift purchased will support UNICEF's efforts to ensure the survival and development of children in more than 150 countries."

The purchase of a Child Survival Food Pack from the UNICEF Inspired Gifts collection can help a severely malnourished child recover to full nutritional health. The package includes therapeutic milk and ready-to-eat therapeutic nut paste to treat life-threatening malnutrition, high-energy biscuits and multiple micronutrient powder to ensure a child recovering from malnutrition gets the vitamins and minerals he or she needs to stay healthy, and water purification tablets for the prevention of water-borne diseases. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than one-third of all childhood deaths. Children who suffer from malnutrition can become physically and mentally stunted and are less able to fight off illness and to fully participate in school. To learn more about the Child Survival Food Pack visit: www.inspiredgifts.org/foodpack

This Mother's Day there are even more ways to help mothers and children around the world. Through the purchase of Story Books, also from the Inspired Gifts collection, shoppers can inspire young minds and support a love of learning. Each purchase provides local-language books that bring the joy of discovery and reading into the lives of children. Shoppers can also purchase an Early Childhood Development Kit from the collection to help young children in the immediate aftermath of conflict or a natural disaster. This kit contains everything from pencils and pads to colorful puzzles and puppets. It provides the chance to learn and play and encourages continued development when children need it most.

UNICEF Inspired Gifts is an innovative program that allows consumers to purchase actual, lifesaving products that will be shipped to one of the more than 150 countries where UNICEF works. Upon purchase of an Inspired Gift, a card will be delivered to the family, friend or loved one announcing the gift made to UNICEF in their honor. Inspired Gifts can make a dramatic difference in the life of a child and mother threatened by malnutrition and disease, or lacking access to clean water or educational opportunities. Visit www.inspiredgifts.org to learn more and view the full selection of gifts available for purchase.

Those who want to give back through a more traditional Mother's Day gift this year can choose from a range of items in the 2012 UNICEF spring cards and gifts catalog, including Jewel-Toned Bangles, Mosaic Candle Holders, and a decorative Mother's Joy Sculpture—all the while knowing that the purchase goes to help vulnerable children and their families across the globe.

To view UNICEF's wide selection of Mother's Day gifts visit: www.unicefusa.org/shop

About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in more than 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.

UNICEF is at the forefront of efforts to reduce child mortality worldwide. There has been substantial progress: the annual number of under-five deaths dropped from more than 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. But still, 21,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

SOURCE U.S. Fund for UNICEF