As you know, UNICEF’s commitment to putting people and their safety first is of utmost importance. Given the recent government emergency declarations about the Novel Coronavirus presence in California and the announcement from the World Health Organization that categorizes the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, it is with great sadness that we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 UNICEF Gala San Francisco.

This decision was made after consulting with CDC experts, Board members, external stakeholders and staff, and is in keeping with our deep sense of responsibility to our community.

Though the UNICEF Gala on May 2nd is postponed, we are monitoring the fluid situation and look forward to rescheduling in the months ahead.

On behalf of our Gala Chairs, Danielle Boutros and Susanne Caballero, the UNICEF Gala Committee, the Northwest Regional Board and everyone who has worked so hard to create this powerful moment for UNICEF in the Bay Area, I look forward to updating you with the new date on which we will come together to celebrate and recognize our work for children.

This virus is a painful reminder of the global challenges facing families and children around the world. UNICEF stays committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure every child, everywhere has the opportunity to lead a healthy and safe life.

Thank you for all you do for the children of the world. While we will miss the opportunity to see you all in May, we look forward to our continued partnership in amplifying children’s voices and helping affect change both here in the U.S. and abroad.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why are you postponing The UNICEF Gala San Francisco?
This decision was made in consultation with our leadership team and board of directors out of an abundance of caution for our staff and participants. We considered criteria including CDC recommendations, recent state of emergency declarations, the volume of people at the event, amount of travel that participants would undertake, and the evolving circumstances surrounding the novel corona virus. 

What if I purchased a table or a ticket?
Thank you for your generous support of UNICEF. Our team will be in touch with you individually within the next 10 business days regarding your support. Should you have any questions, please contact wtsang@unicefusa.org.

When will the event be rescheduled?
We will monitor the evolving situation and will inform everyone once we have new confirmed dates for the event. We are working closely with the venue, event participants, and local leadership to reschedule the event as soon as possible.

How is UNICEF USA being financially responsible with the event?
We are working with our vendors towards transferring all expected costs to host a rescheduled event and reduce the additional expenses for the organization. We are thankful to have great partners in the Ritz Carlton and other vendors who are working closely with us on this situation. 

How is UNICEF responding to the coronavirus programmatically?
By the time the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency on January 30, UNICEF had already rushed the first shipment of 6 metric tons of medical supplies to aid response efforts. As of March 13, UNICEF had delivered 1.2 million gloves, nearly 300,000 masks, over 38,000 protective suits and more than 45,000 protective goggles for distribution to health care workers in the East Asia and Pacific region.

UNICEF is leading on preventative actions in communities across the affected countries with risk communication, providing hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics and monitoring the impact of the outbreak to support continuity of care, education and social services. So far, UNICEF has reached more than 32 million people with transmission prevention messages in the region and plans to reach an additional 210 million people in the coming days.

On March 1, United Nations Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help fund global efforts to contain the virus. "At this pivotal moment, every effort must be made to push back against the outbreak," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "These crucial funds will support our global efforts to bolster weaker health systems and inform children, pregnant women and families about how to protect themselves."

For more information on the virus and UNICEF’s global response, please see click here.