Save the Children facts for kids

For other uses, see Save the Children (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Save the Children

Founded	15 April 1919; 106 years ago (1919-04-15)
Founders	Eglantyne Jebb Dorothy Buxton
Type	International NGO
Registration no.	England & Wales 213890 SC039570 EIN: 06-0726487
Legal status	Registered company limited by guarantee
Location	London, WC2, England
Origins	London, England
Area served	Worldwide

Save the Children is a global organization that helps children around the world. It started in the UK in 1919. Its main goal is to make life better for kids everywhere.

The organization works to give children better chances for education, health care, and economic opportunities. They do this through different programs focused on health, learning, and keeping children safe. Save the Children also works closely with the United Nations to achieve its goals.

How Save the Children Started
How Save the Children Works
Events Affecting Save the Children
- Attack in Jalalabad
- Death of Hisham Al-Hakimi
New Initiatives
- Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV)
- The Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (CUBIC)
Archives
Sponsors
See also

How Save the Children Started

Early Days

Save the Children was founded in London, England, on April 15, 1919. Two sisters, Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton, started it. They wanted to help children who were starving in Germany and Austria-Hungary. This was happening because of a blockade after World War I.

After World War I, many children in Europe were sick and hungry. The sisters first joined a group called the Fight the Famine Council. This group wanted the British government to stop the blockade. On April 15, 1919, the sisters decided to create their own group, the "Save the Children Fund."

In May 1919, Save the Children officially launched at a meeting in London. Their aim was to help children suffering from the war. They wanted to raise money for emergency food and supplies.

Jebb and Buxton worked hard to get people to notice their cause. In December 1919, Pope Benedict XV supported Save the Children. He even asked people to donate on December 28, which he called "Innocents Day."

The first local office opened in Fife, Scotland, in 1919. Another similar group, Rädda Barnen, started in Sweden later that year. These groups, along with others, formed the International Save the Children Union in Geneva in 1920. Jebb also worked with other groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Jebb was very good at raising money. Save the Children was the first charity in the UK to use full-page newspaper ads. They hired experts to create big advertising campaigns. In 1920, they started a program where people could sponsor individual children. By the end of that year, they had raised a lot of money, equal to about £8 million today.

Helping During the Russian Famine

By August 1921, Save the Children in the UK had raised over £1 million. Conditions for children in Central Europe were getting better. However, a terrible famine happened in Russia in 1921. This made Jebb realize that Save the Children needed to be a permanent organization. She understood that children's rights always needed protection. So, their mission changed to helping children everywhere who faced hardship.

From 1921 to 1923, Save the Children ran campaigns and made movies to raise awareness. They set up feeding centers in Russia and Turkey. These centers helped thousands of refugee children and provided education. They worked with other groups and were recognized by the League of Nations. Even though Russia was mostly closed off, Save the Children convinced Soviet leaders to let them work there.

Some newspapers in the UK criticized their work. They said the charity should help people in their own country first. Save the Children responded by sharing more information about the famine. They showed pictures of starving children. This campaign gained a lot of support. The organization was able to send a ship with 600 tons of supplies to Russia. They gave out over 157 million food portions, saving nearly 300,000 children. By the summer of 1923, conditions improved, and their program in Russia closed.

World War II and Beyond

After World War II, Save the Children staff were among the first to help in areas freed from control. They worked with refugee children and those who had been displaced. This included survivors of Nazi concentration camps. In the UK, they focused on helping children in cities damaged by bombs.

In the 1950s, Save the Children continued to help during crises. They responded to needs after the Korean War and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. They also started new work in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Save the Children was also active during major disasters like the Vietnam War and the conflict in Biafra, Nigeria. Images of starving children from Biafra were shown on TV for the first time. This led to huge fundraising success, similar to their early campaigns.

Disasters in Ethiopia, Sudan, and other places led to many public donations. This helped the organization grow its work. Save the Children continues to focus on children's rights. In the late 1990s, they ran a big campaign against the use of child soldiers in Africa.

During the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in 2014, there were not enough hospital beds. Save the Children worked with the UK government to build and run a 100-bed treatment center. They also supported a center for children who had lost their families to Ebola.

How Save the Children Works

Save the Children is a large international group. It has 30 national member organizations that work in over 120 countries. Each member group works in its own country. They also work with donors to create programs abroad. These programs are managed by a central group called Save the Children International. This central group also handles responses to humanitarian crises.

All members follow rules set by the International Save the Children Alliance. These rules include a Child Protection Protocol and a Code of Conduct. These ensure that all parts of the organization share the same values and principles.

Events Affecting Save the Children

Attack in Jalalabad

On January 24, 2018, an attack happened at a Save the Children office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Attackers linked to a group called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province used bombs and guns. Six people were killed, and 27 were injured.

Death of Hisham Al-Hakimi

In September 2023, Hisham Al-Hakimi, who was a safety director for Save the Children in Yemen, was arrested. He was held without contact and died on October 25, 2023, while still in detention. Some reports suggested there were concerns about his safety and conduct within the organization. Save the Children ended contracts for two staff members related to these concerns. A group of aid organizations, including Save the Children, called for an investigation into his death.

New Initiatives

Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV)

In 2022, Save the Children started Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV). This is a charity based in Switzerland. SCGV aims to get private businesses to invest in ways that help children. They use new financial ideas to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.

The Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (CUBIC)

Save the Children also launched the Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (CUBIC) in 2020. CUBIC uses behavioral science to help children. This means they study how people make decisions and act. They use this knowledge to create smart, evidence-based solutions that can help many children.

CUBIC provides training, advice, and leads research. They find, test, and evaluate ways to solve specific challenges related to behavior. Save the Children sees CUBIC as a way to make their programs more effective and cost-efficient. In its first five years, CUBIC worked on over 50 projects. These projects covered topics like early childhood development, positive parenting, reducing child labor, and encouraging vaccinations. CUBIC works with Save the Children offices worldwide, as well as other charities and universities.