Save the Children Federation, Inc., commonly known as Save the Children USA, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and around the world. Their headquarters is located in
Fairfield,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, United States.
Save the Children USA was formed in 1932 to help children in the
Appalachian mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and modeled on the
Save the Children Fund
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
which had been established in Britain in 1919.
Save the Children USA is part of the
global Save the Children movement, with operations in over 120 countries around the world. Save the Children received a 4-star rating from
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...
between 2001 and 2014, a 3-star rating between 2015 and 2017, and a 4-star rating in 2018 and 2019.
Current Work & Operations
* Save the Children works in the United States and around the world.
*Save the Children's experienced and highly-skilled teams around the world work tirelessly to respond to global emergencies and conflict. The organization can assemble a world-class team of health professionals to work for children in crisis anywhere in the world within 72 hours.
*Save the Children works in over 200 of the poorest communities in rural America. Programs are focused on ensuring children are kindergarten-ready, reading by third grade, have safe places to go after school, and maintain reading and math skills over the summer months.
*Save the Children also responds to natural disasters in the U.S., including 2020's deadly Gulf Coast hurricanes as well as the West Coast wildfires.
*Save the Children is the largest aid organization in Yemen.
*Save the Children is on the ground delivering lifesaving aid in Syria, where deadly conflict has been raging for 10 years.
*Since 2017, when violence in Myanmar triggered an exodus of Rohingya children, women and men, Save the Children has been providing essential services to nearly 600,000 refugees and the local community in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh.
*Through partners, Save the Children is helping deliver immediate humanitarian relief to newly arrived children and families on both sides of the U.S. Southern border.
*In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Save the Children engaged in the most sweeping humanitarian response in the organization's 101-year history. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, Save the Children's team have been on the ground, currently reaching children and families simultaneously in 87 countries, including the U.S.
*Through campaign and advocacy work, Save the Children ensures children's voices are heard.
Ambassadors
Save the Children Ambassadors are high-profile individuals, widely-recognized as prominent members of their field, who demonstrate a shared vision and common goals with Save the Children, and who commit over a long period of time to support Save the Children's mission.
Save the Children's Ambassadors help promote the organization's work, raise funds and advocate to create lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. As of February 2020, current Ambassadors include
Camila Cabello
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...
,
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomina ...
,
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...
,
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
,
Cobie Smulders
Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Ma ...
,
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...
and
Rachel Zoe
Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig (born September 1, 1971) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and author who rose to prominence as a celebrity wardrobe stylist. She has been credited with the creation of "the boho-meets-rock chic look that came ...
.
Reports
* In 2016, Save the Children reported on a method for direct assessment of child development on
motor function
Motor control is the regulation of movement in organisms that possess a nervous system. Motor control includes reflexes as well as directed movement.
To control movement, the nervous system must integrate multimodal sensory information (both f ...
, language and early literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional development, suitable for children age 3-6 years, was tested in 45 countries for international use. It helps identify teaching opportunities and gaps in developmental progress: International Development and Early Learning Assessment. The report is ''IDELA: Fostering Common Solutions for Young Children.''
*In 2017, in commemoration of International Children's Day, Save the Children launched a new global report that examines some of the reasons why children around the world miss out on childhood. ''The End of Childhood Report'' includes an ''End of Childhood Index'' that evaluates countries against a common set of life-changing events that can signal the disruption of childhood. It ranks more than 170 countries based on where childhood is most intact and where it is most eroded. Both The Childhood Report and the Global End of Childhood Index are published annually.
*In February 2019, the year of Save the Children's 100th Anniversary, the organization launched a global report titled ''Stop the War on Children: Protecting children in a 21st century conflict''. It included a breakdown of UN data on verified grave violations against children. It also included the most comprehensive collection of data on the number of children living in conflict-affected areas.
*In February 2020, the third report of Save the Children's Stop the War on Children campaign was published titled ''Stop the War on Children 2020: Gender Matters'.'' The report revealed shocking trends in the threats to the safety and wellbeing of children living in areas impacted by conflict.
*In November 2020, ''Killed and Maimed: A Generation of Violations Against Children','' the next report in the Stop the War on Children series, was published. The report explored both the scale of the problem and the core areas where action is not just possible, but essential.
*In September 2020, Save the Children published ''Protect a Generation: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children's Lives''. This report provided a summary of selected findings from the Save the Children's Global Research Series on the hidden impact of COVID-19 on children.
*
Controversies
Sponsorship scandal (1998)
In March 1998, Save the Children USA became embroiled in a scandal that was investigated by the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. The investigation uncovered two dozen donors were making contributions to dead children.
The scandal resulted in the dismissal of an employee that was based in Mali.
Three additional employees were reprimanded for allowing these deaths to go unreported.
An American family with the surname "Dixon" was sending $20/month to a child by the name of Abdoul Kone who died of a donkey cart accident nearly 3 years earlier.
Mugs with traces of lead (1998)
In October 1998, Save the Children USA recalled approximately 2,000 mugs when it was revealed that their lead content, while in compliance with Federal guidelines, exceeded the levels in a voluntary standard to be introduced in California the following year.
QAnon attempt to co-opt #SaveTheChildren
In 2020 proponents of the unproven far-right conspiracy theory
QAnon
QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
attempted to co-opt the hashtag #SaveTheChildren, leading to a temporary block of the hashtag on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
.
On August 7 Save the Children issued a statement on the unauthorized use of its name in campaigns.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
1932 establishments in the United States
Organizations established in 1932
Children's charities based in the United States
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
Non-profit organizations based in Connecticut