[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 23982-23983]
[From the U.S. 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

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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 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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