By Grace Nelson, Key Club International trustee and Programs & Partners Committee chair

October is the month of goblins, ghouls and giving! Key Club is once again participating in Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF from October 1 to 31!

This year, our fundraiser supports Start Strong: Zambia — a project that helps children in Zambia receive early childhood developmental services that give them a good start in life.

We all want to make a difference, but getting started can be hard. Here are some fundraising ideas for October!

  • Trunk or Treat: Invite business representatives, families, community members or other volunteers to meet in a common area with their cars decorated with a fun Halloween theme. Kids can go safely to each car and receive candy. You can provide candy for your volunteers or ask them to bring their own. A donation fee is charged to participate — with the proceeds going to Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.
  • Pumpkin decorating: Show off your artistic skills! Gather some pumpkins (either locally donated or purchased) to decorate, as well as art supplies. To paint and/or carve a pumpkin, participants donate (either a set or chosen amount) to your fundraiser. People can join individually, with friends and family or even as a school club! Want some extra fun? Make it a contest and have a panel choose the best one!
  • Coin wars: Host a contest in which teams go head-to-head to accumulate the most points. Each donated coin adds one point to a team’s score, and each bill deducts 10. Teams (whether made of classes, grades or clubs) try to donate the most coins to grow their score while sabotaging the others. All proceeds go to your fundraiser.
  • Boo-suckers: Sell spooky suckers to send some scary spirit. Purchase lollipops and cover them with white tissue paper. Tie the tissue paper to the lollipop with white ribbon and draw two eyes — now you have a “ghost.” Sell them around the community or at school. Quick tip: If you sell them in school, let students write a message for you to deliver with the lollipop.
  • Use the classic Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF boxes: Go door-to-door with the iconic orange boxes and collect donations. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is a tradition extending back to 1950, so community members are always excited to get involved. Your club might already have some boxes from last year; if not, make sure to visit the Kiwanis Family Store to get them for free. (Clubs only pay for shipping.)

How do you donate funds?

Make sure to visit the official Key Club donation page to ensure your funds go to the correct place. Your club has two ways to donate:

Collect all donations and convert cash to a check or money order. (Make the check payable to Kiwanis Children’s Fund.)  Complete the gift form from Key Club International.  Send the check and completed gift form to:

Kiwanis Children’s Fund 

P.O. Box 6457 – Dept #286 

Indianapolis, IN 46206 U.S. 

ATTN: Trick-or-Treat 

Include “Trick-or-Treat” and your club number on the check’s memo line.