Supermodel Spooktacular: Ghosts, Goblins and Good

Remember assembling the little cardboard box? Toting it around the neighborhood in one hand, a pillow case in the other, feeling good about doing good — and looking forward to chowing on all that candy?

Halloween is four days away and little hands will again head door-to-door doing good with the little orange boxes. Now in its 61 st year, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has found a way to bring the Halloween fun online and spice it up with its latest spokesperson, super hot supermodel and style doyenne Heidi Klum.

Klum’s own Halloween parties are legendary and she’s urging everyone to host their own – and to make it at least a little bit about kids helping kids.

“As a mom, I want my children to have everything they need to be safe, healthy, and happy. I’m amazed at the work UNICEF does to provide vital support for children all around the world – from education to nutrition, healthcare to clean water – in dire emergencies and all year round,” she says on the UNICEF site. “Every donation you make helps save children’s lives and gives them the chance to thrive. Please join me today!”

The UNICEF site now offers a detailed guide for planning a party-with-a-purpose, and a neat digital dress up kit, fit for you and your kids.

Click here to try on a cute costume for free and generate a photo to share on Facebook. Or, for a  $5 or $10 donation, insert yourself into more sophisticated looks. UNICEF’s first Halloween campaign was inspired by the efforts of a Pennsylvania minister, the Reverend Clyde Allison, and his wife Mary Emma, who decided to infuse some larger good into the beloved door-to-door candy collecting ritual.

Their children, friends and fellow congregants began decorating milk cartons and collecting money on Halloween for UNICEF.  In  1950, the  first Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF national campaign was born, with children collecting money to help their peers in Europe, still suffering in the aftermath of World War II.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is now the oldest and one of the largest campaigns of kids helping kids. Last year, the campaign raised $5 million, and funds raised over the past 60 years have topped $164 million.

“UNICEF is working in 150 countries to provide basic services like water, sanitation, education, nutrition and immunization,” said Kristi Burnham, Vice President for Program and Strategic Partnerships at the US Fund for UNICEF, “these funds raised go all around the world to save children.”

Nearly 21,000 children die every day from preventable causes.

According to UNICEF, more than 90% of all money it receives goes directly to programs and supplies that help children.

Click here to donate to the US Fund for UNICEF‘, which is partnering with ABC News in the Million Moms Challenge. This new initiative aims to help moms and babies around the world by raising awareness around the issues preventing women and children from surviving and thriving.

For more news and discussion of issues parents care about, visit ABC’s Million Moms Challenge and join the community. Your sign up will help save the lives of moms and babies everywhere.