Littles ones dressed up for Halloween trick-or-treating will be asking you for one less thing this year when they ring your doorbell.

UNICEF has decided to cancel its Halloween orange box campaign in Canada, after more than 50 years of fundraising efforts for needy children around the world.

Children in Montreal dress up as UNICEF Halloween boxes (photo: Mélanie Gagnon, UNICEF Québec)
Children in Montreal dress up as UNICEF Halloween boxes (photo: Mélanie Gagnon, UNICEF Québec)

After consulting with teachers and parents about its Halloween program, the United Nations Children's Fund said the time has come to put the cardboard boxes to rest.

The annual loose change collection isn't worth the money that's amassed, said Evelyne Guindon, executive director for UNICEF Quebec.

"Coin is very labour-intensive," she said. "Rolling pennies is very labour-intensive. So obviously that was one of the things teachers reflected to us."

The decision doesn't mean UNICEF is backing away from efforts to get children interested in fundraising, said Guindon. Teachers will be given opportunities to organize educational activities, that include raising money for people in need.

That's a poor substitute for a brilliant campaign, said Philip Robertson, an elementary school principal who oversees three schools on Québec's Lower North Shore. In a world of brands, UNICEF is making a mistake in dropping the program, he said.

"The kids feel good about what they've done," explained Robertson, "because UNICEF normally provides little educational units about why kids are bringing the orange boxes along with them when they're trick-or-treating, and what this money's going to be used for."

What made the orange box campaign work so well with children, added Robertson, was the association between getting free candy and helping others.

Over the last 15 years, Canadians have donated an average of $3 million dollars every Halloween to UNICEF's orange box campaign.