Save the Children facts for kids
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| Founded | 15 April 1919 |
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| 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 | |
| Origins | London, England, U.K. |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
Save the Children is a global organization that helps children around the world. It was started in the United Kingdom in 1919. Its main goal is to make life better for kids everywhere.
The group works to raise money to improve children's lives. They focus on giving kids better chances for education, better health care, and more opportunities for their families to earn money.
Save the Children also works closely with the United Nations. They have a special role that lets them advise the UN on important issues.
Contents
How Save the Children Started
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 (a kind of military shutdown) that continued after World War I.
After World War I ended, many pictures showed children across Europe who were very 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. But 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 big meeting in London. Their goal was to "help children suffering from the effects of war." They wanted to raise money for emergency aid, like food and supplies, for kids affected by the war.
Jebb and Buxton worked hard to get people to notice their cause and offer help. In December 1919, Pope Benedict XV publicly supported Save the Children. He even declared December 28th as 'Innocents Day' to collect donations.
The first local branch opened in Fife, Scotland, in 1919. Later that year, a similar group called Rädda Barnen (which means "Save the Children") started in Sweden. These groups, along with others, formed the International Save the Children Union in Geneva in 1920. Jebb also worked with other groups, like the Red Cross, to support this international effort.
Jebb was very good at raising money. Save the Children was the first charity in the UK to use full-page advertisements in newspapers. They hired doctors, lawyers, and other experts to create big ad campaigns. In 1920, they started a program where people could sponsor individual children. By the end of that year, Save the Children 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 because of their work. However, a terrible famine hit 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 "an international effort to save child life wherever it is threatened by hard times and suffering."
From 1921 to 1923, Save the Children created news campaigns and even movies to show the world what was happening. They set up feeding centers in Russia and Turkey to help thousands of refugees. They worked with other groups, and the League of Nations (an early version of the UN) recognized their efforts. Even though Russia was mostly closed off to outside help, Save the Children convinced the Soviet leaders to let them work there.
Back home, some newspapers criticized their work, saying they should help people in their own country first. Save the Children responded by showing more pictures of starving children and mass graves. This campaign gained a lot of support. Eventually, they sent a ship, the SS Torcello, to Russia with 600 tons of supplies. They gave out over 157 million food portions, saving nearly 300,000 children. By the summer of 1923, conditions improved, and Save the Children's program in Russia closed after earning international praise.
During World War II
After World War II, Save the Children staff were among the first to arrive in areas that had been freed. They worked with refugee children and people who had been forced to leave their homes. This included survivors from Nazi concentration camps. In the UK, they focused on helping children in cities damaged by bombs and those whose family lives were disrupted.
Responding to Crises
In the 1950s, Save the Children continued to help during crises. They responded to calls for help after the Korean War and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. They also started new work in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as the British empire changed.
Like other aid groups, Save the Children helped during major disasters. This included the Vietnam War and the Biafra conflict in Nigeria. The Biafra conflict showed shocking images of starving children on TV in Western countries for the first time. Save the Children used mass-marketing campaigns, similar to what they did in the 1920s, to raise a lot of money.
Disasters in Ethiopia, Sudan, and other places led to huge public donations. This helped the organization grow its work even more. Save the Children also continued to focus on children's rights, a key idea from their founder, Eglantyne Jebb. In the late 1990s, they ran a big campaign against the use of child soldiers in Africa.
During the Ebola outbreak in 2014 in Sierra Leone, there were more new cases than available hospital beds. Save the Children worked with the UK government to build and run a 100-bed treatment center in Sierra Leone. They also supported a care center in Kailahun 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 national group leads activities in its home 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 has teams on the ground in each country and also handles emergency responses.
All members of Save the Children follow rules set by the International Save the Children Alliance. These rules include a Child Protection Protocol and a Code of Conduct. These rules make sure everyone shares the same values and principles.
Sponsors
Save the Children is the main sponsor of Juventus FC, a famous football club in Italy.
See also
In Spanish: Save the Children para niños
- Think of the children
- Child Development Index
- Save the Children International
- Save the Children Australia
- Save the Children USA
- Save the Children State of the World's Mothers report
- Street Kids International
- International Save the Children Union
- UNICEF
- NetHope
- Christmas Jumper Day
- Odisha State Child Protection Society
- Children in emergencies and conflicts
- Gopali Youth Welfare Society
- Refugee children
