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Washington, D.C. (November 2, 2006) – Save the Children expressed gratitude today to Comedy Central and TV host Stephen Colbert for the more than $50,000 raised in this week’s auction of Colbert’s portrait on the The Colbert Report.

The owners of Sticky Fingers, a chain of barbecue restaurants based in South Carolina, paid $50,605 for the portrait, which "The Colbert Report" sold on eBay. The portrait will be displayed in one of the chain’s restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina.

“When Stephen Colbert announced the auction last month, he said that this is a real auction of a real portrait to benefit a real charity,” said Save the Children’s president and CEO Charlie MacCormack. “And, as we have told Stephen, this money will go to a really important cause – to help educate children living in areas impacted by war and conflict, as part of Save the Children’s new global Rewrite the Future campaign.”

Of the estimated 100 million primary-aged children not in school, more than a third – well over 43 million – live in war-torn areas. In many cases, schools have been destroyed or commandeered by armed forces; teachers have been killed or forced to flee, and children have been recruited and forced to participate in the violence. Over the next five years, Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future campaign seeks to provide quality education for 8 million children affected by armed conflict, including 3 million currently not in school.

“In our 75-year-history, we’ve learned that education can and should be part of all humanitarian responses,” MacCormack said. “In the short term, education protects children from the most damaging aspects of conflict and in the long term, education plays a significant role in building peace, restoring countries, and preventing future conflict.

“With every generation of children comes the hope for a better world,” MacCormack said. “Rewrite the Future will ensure millions of children have the opportunity to receive a quality education and break the cycle of violence. The world cannot stand by, leaving these children without education and without hope or opportunity, in some cases for generations.”

You can help educate children living in conflict zones, donate now.