A Summer of Activity
A New Boston CAT Member Shares Her Experiences
Upon joining UNICEF’s Boston Congressional Action Team (CAT) in June, I have met a wonderful group of people who all share the same passion and goal: advocating on behalf of the world’s children. I was excited to learn that as a CAT Member, I could get involved in many other volunteer opportunities locally and regionally to help make a difference.
One such opportunity presented itself on July 11th, when a hearing was held before the joint judiciary committee at the Massachusetts State House regarding anti-trafficking legislation. Along with many other bills, three pieces of MA legislation were addressed: H.766, S.905, and S.906. These bills would help enhance the lives of survivors of human trafficking by vacating the criminal records of survivors who committed crimes while victims.
I appreciated getting to show my support for the advocates of the Massachusetts Coalition to End Human Trafficking, who testified before the committee on the importance of this issue. It was great to see the strong presence and advocacy for these anti-trafficking measures.
Along with human trafficking, another important issue impacting the world’s children is global climate change. People sometimes forget that children, especially the most disadvantaged, are a highly vulnerable group when it comes to negative effects on the environment.
With this in mind, UNICEF USA’s New England Regional Office had the opportunity to host a table on August 11th at GreenFest – an event promoting environmental sustainability. The festival was organized with tents filled with entertainment, music, art, and fun activities for kids. At the UNICEF table, our team of volunteers set up a large board for kids (and adults!) to write down their favorite outdoor activities while we spoke about the impact of climate change. We found strong interest in the CAT among many visitors who provided their email addresses requesting more information. This was a great way for us to engage with the local community and share UNICEF’s message, while having a lot of fun in the process!
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To learn more about UNICEF USA’s efforts to raise awareness about child trafficking and mobilize communities to take meaningful action to help protect children, check out our End Trafficking Project.
Interested in reading more about the impacts of climate change on children? UNICEF’s March 2017 report, "Thirsting for a Future: Water and Children in a Changing Climate," is a great place to start!
HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to make a difference
War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
