As childcare challenges persist in the middle of a pandemic, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Anne Curtis and her husband Erwan Heussaff launched a fundraiser to help vulnerable babies get the right start in life by getting proper health care and nutrition.

The fundraiser was conducted as the first birthday celebration of their first baby Dahlia, initially raising Php 800,000 through a crowdfunding page. As the fundraiser ran from February 2 to March 15, the couple donated Php 1 million themselves, bringing the total donations to Php 1.8 million.

All donations will go towards improving children’s access to health and nutrition services in their first 1,000 days of life. These programs include providing ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnourished children, enabling pregnant women to get better access to prenatal care, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, and much more.

“Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Dahlia Turns 1 birthday fundraiser!” said Anne. “With what we raised, malnourished children can get access to life-saving treatment, more mothers will learn about breastfeeding, and the importance of immunization at the right time, both of which can protect babies and children from life-threatening diseases.”

The actress and host also expressed her gratitude for the well-wishes they received. “I try to read all of your messages and it just melts my heart! I hope to gather all these stories so that Dahlia can read it someday. We’re all experiencing the ‘new normal’ in different ways and I feel that now more than ever, love and kindness can help us through these difficult times,” Anne said. “I see and feel all the love from so many people, not just for my family, but for all the Filipino children we are able to help through UNICEF.”

Anne also encouraged people to reach out to UNICEF Philippines on their official Facebook page for more information on creating fundraisers to support children’s programs. Furthermore, she also pointed out that one could donate monthly and become a UNICEF Champion for Children by going to: https://donate.unicef.ph

With UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and individual donors continually furthering UNICEF’s cause, the child rights organization becomes one step closer to ensuring every child has the best start in life.