Dear everyone,
In the midst of some of the most acrimonious and heated budget battles in our nations history, something pretty amazing happened for Americas kids just before Memorial Day.
On May 25th, as part of the Race to the Top initiative, the Obama Administration announced $500 million in state grants for the best and most innovative early childhood education programs. This investment will bring the power of early childhood education to thousands of toddlers across of America who currently arent enrolled in preschool.
I wrote about this fabulous achievement in The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/kUJ6m8
In fact, Save the Childrens U.S. Programs advocacy team has been fighting for this funding since President Obamas inauguration. Still, with 2 out of 5 kids not enrolled in any sort of preschool program in America, this funding just isnt enough to ensure a bright future for all our kids.
Thats why Im thrilled that, this week, U.S. Programs will join Senators Robert Casey and Barbara Mikulski on Capitol Hill to introduce legislation that will ensure early education for every child in America.
Enactment of this legislation, though a steep climb politically, would provide an extraordinary investment in Americas future. The Brookings Institute estimates this kind of effort could generate $2 trillion for our gross domestic product within a generation! I look forward to providing a full report on this initiative next month.
U.S. Programs remains on the ground in the tornado-ravaged Southeast, where recovery is moving forward steadily and meaningfully, thanks to your support. Weve served more than 6,000 kids and their caregivers by creating child-specific areas in community centers and ensuring emotional and psychological support for kids who are trying to recover from the trauma of, in some cases, dozens of lost community members.
We provided more than 350,000 diapers, as well as wipes, strollers, portable cribs and other essential items for the very youngest children, thanks to donations from Wal-Mart. We also received $200,000 from ToysRUs for our recovery programs.
Our efforts were further fortified by the amazing support of Zynga, the worlds leading gaming company. Zynga turned on a dime to engage players across their gaming properties, including CityVille, Treasure Island and YoVille. So far, the company has raised more than $250,000 for the Southeast. These funds are complemented by nearly $3 million Zynga raised for our response to the Japan earthquake.
This is truly an amazing company with a strong spirit of service. I was proud to visit their headquarters in May to thank the staff personally. Its no wonder Zynga is one of the hottest technology companies in the world. To learn more about their service initiatives, check out Zynga.org
Our work continues in the Southeast and we still need your support. If you havent done so yet, please consider contributing to our disaster relief and recovery work: http://goo.gl/p7GxL
Finally, U.S. Programs was the beneficiary of the annual Outstanding Mothers Award Luncheon in New York City, May 5th, which honored outstanding moms Susan Sarandon, Donna Karan, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Cindi Leive of Glamour Magazine and Joyce Armeli of Bon-Ton Stores. It was a terrific event that secured significant funding for our work.
Check out this story on the event in Womens Wear Daily: http://goo.gl/t2YO2
Thats all for this month and enjoy the start of summer and your Fourth of July holiday!
Warmly,
Mark
