[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 132 (Friday, September 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1824-E1825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 7, 2007

  Mr. SHAYS. Madam Speaker, this year, Save the Children marks its 75th 
year of service to children. This is certainly an achievement worth 
celebrating--and Save the Children did so last night at an Anniversary 
Benefit in New York City. Seventy-five years ago, a group of concerned 
business people first gathered in New York City to respond to the needs 
of children in Appalachia, hit hard by the Great Depression. Save the 
Children USA began with a hot lunch program for undernourished 
schoolchildren in rural Kentucky. This brought about an almost 
immediate rise in attendance and academic achievement, and the program 
became one of the models for the Federal school lunch program. 
Throughout its history, Save the Children has focused on transforming 
children's lives by providing families and communities with the tools 
they need to break the cycle of poverty. And Save the Children 
continues to respond to crises resulting from conflicts or natural 
disasters. Save the Children's mission remains the same in war-torn 
Afghanistan, tsunami-stricken Indonesia and the United States' coastal 
area hit by Hurricane Katrina. In addition to 12 states in the U.S., 
Save the Children is now in more than 50 countries.
  Today, when one in every six children in the U.S. are still living in 
poverty, and one-third of American children and adolescents are either 
obese or at risk of becoming obese, Save the Children remains hard at 
work in rural communities providing literacy, physical activity and 
nutrition, and early childhood support to children in need. Save the 
Children is working in some of the Nation's poorest communities: in 
Appalachia, the Southeast, the Mississippi River Delta, the Gulf Coast, 
the Southwest and California's Central Valley. In rural communities 
like these, 2.6 million children live in poverty, and many lack access 
to the recreational opportunities and affordable, fresh produce they 
need to sustain healthy lives.
  Save the Children's international programs began in the 1940's with 
sponsorships of children caught in the crossfire of World War II. 
Today, Save the Children reaches the world's

[[Page E1825]]

most marginalized children--those who urgently need education, health 
services, nutrition and economic security to survive and thrive in more 
than 50 countries around the world. Half as many children under age 5 
die each year as compared to 1960 and the number of children who can 
read and write has increased by nearly 50 percent. Save the Children 
has played a lead role in some unprecedented global successes for 
children over the years. Yet, there is still much more work to be done. 
More than 600,000 children in developing countries live in families 
that must survive on less than $1 a day. Moreover, 77 million children 
around the world are out of school, and 28,000 children under the age 
of 5 die each and every day. That is not acceptable. Save the Children 
has launched initiatives to tackle these challenges.
  I am proud Save the Children has its headquarters in the Fourth 
Congressional District, in Westport, Connecticut, and applaud them for 
their accomplishments over the last 75 years. I also appreciate the 
leadership of Charlie MacCormack and look forward to witnessing the 
future lasting, positive changes Save the Children will make in the 
lives of children. I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing and 
supporting this fine organization and their noteworthy mission.

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