Pink named UNICEF ambassador in fight to end child hunger

Pink has been named a UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) ambassador to raise money for nutritional, vitamin-rich peanut paste for hungry children around the world. Global malnutrition affects 159 million children.

It fits in with her role as spokeswoman for Kid Power to encourage physical activity in young American kids.

“You can see how the two are connected,” the singer explained. “One in four kids in America are inactive and one in four kids globally are malnourished.”

The 36-year-old recently visited Haiti as part of a UNICEF program to provide food packets and saw first hand severely malnourished children in Port-au-Prince.

“You can see with your own eyes how things change for them within a week,” she said. “They literally come back to life. You want to get involved in programs like this when you can see that they work. Obviously when you have a child of your own, you feel what it is not to be able to feed them.”

Kid Power Band encourages early grade kids to exercise through the interactive app. They earn points by doing things like taking 12,000 steps a day or completing a goal. As they earn points, UNICEF’s partners, including Target, Disney and Star Wars: Force for Change, will provide the funds needed to send the food packets to places like Haiti. So far it has 12,179 members and unlocked 188, 850 food packets.

The app also teaches young children about the places and cultures they are helping to send food to by sending them on virtual journeys. It also lets them track what changes their efforts are making, find new projects, and urge the fund raisers.

“It’s a fun way to get kids empowered and motivated – and become global citizens.”

Pink’s family is of course right into physical activity. Her high energy acrobatic shows include her flying over the audience and spinning from large silk ribbons. Her husband Corey Hart found fame as a freestyle motocross motorcycle racer and is currently an off-road truck racer. Even four-year-old daughter Willow Sage has been set up with silk ribbons in her bedroom to twirl around on.