Subject: The Tornadoes and Kids Save the Children is always helping.
Dear everyone,
The swarm of tornadoes that has turned towns into rubble across the Southeast can now be counted as the worst domestic natural disaster of the new decade.
With hundreds of people dead, thousands of families forced from their homes and history as a guide, we know that the group most deeply and severely affected by this catastrophe will be children.
Because thousands of families are newly homeless, kids may be forced into temporary housing, community centers or relatives homes for weeks or months. The devastation could also include severely damaged child care centers across the region. This means kids will be displaced, suffer long-term emotional distress and parents wont be able to get back to work if they have to care for their kids on a daily basis.
U.S. Programs has a team of relief and recovery experts on the ground right now in Alabama and Mississippi assessing the situation for children and providing relief.
We are working with FEMA and the Red Cross to distribute vital supplies like diapers and portable cribs to hundreds of families. We are also working to create child-friendly areas in local assistance centers and working to ensure that child care centers can reopen quickly so that parents can get back to work and the local economy can be reenergized.
If you would like to help us – – and I truly hope you can – – you can donate to our Southern United States Tornado in Emergency Fund right here: http://bit.ly/mEEdbV.
Thank you for any support you can provide and please know that your donations will be used specifically for this relief and recovery effort.
In a tragic Washington, D.C. irony, just as the tornadoes were striking, Congress sat idly by and let the National Commission on Children and Disasters shut down. I blogged about this blow to our national disaster strategy on The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/inZ54Q.
Also this month, there are two videos I want to share.
As you know, our relentless Artist Ambassador Jennifer Garner has been consistently beating the advocacy drum on the power of early childhood education. Last week, she appeared on CBSs The Talk to discuss her work with us and the kids we serve. Take a look: http://bit.ly/fft2Rs.
As a complement to Jennifers interview, please also check out this amazing viral video on the power of early childhood education from our partners at The First Five Fund: http://youtu.be/xo8C0Xtdlik. Please share the video on Facebook, Twitter, email or anyplace you can help get the word out!
Thats all for now, but I will keep you updated on our work in the Southeast and please let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas about our efforts there.
Warmly,
Mark
Mark K. Shriver
Senior Vice President, US Programs
2000 L Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Phone: (202) 640-6627
Fax: (202) 640-6950
