|
Child Care Professionals Honor Save the Children for Work on the Gulf Coast
Westport, CT (April 28, 2006) –
|
The National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP) has honored Save the Children this week for the agency’s efforts on the Gulf Coast to establish temporary child care services and support re-establishment of child care centers for children displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The awards ceremony took place Thursday, April 27, at the NACCP’s annual convention in Atlanta. Save the Children’s Josh Madfis, emergency education specialist, accepted the award on behalf of the agency.
|
“We applaud the work of the NACCP and are honored that the association chose to recognize our work in the Gulf states,” said Charles F. MacCormack, President and CEO of Save the Children. “The protection of children in emergency situations around the world is Save the Children’s forte, and it was only natural that we brought our expertise and experience home to help the region’s most vulnerable children.”
Save the Children sent an emergency response team to Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2005, shortly after the magnitude of the disaster became apparent. The agency provided immediate assistance to families in need and began supporting children in centers established for people displaced by the hurricane. In Mississippi and Alabama, Save the Children helped child care centers reopen and set up temporary child care services at locations providing relief and information to people in storm-devastated areas.
Today, Save the Children is restoring and restocking 34 licensed child care centers in Harrison County, Miss., which will serve 2,300 children. The agency is assessing the needs of children in temporary trailer and tent camps across the Gulf region, working to ensure that children have safe places to play and that parents have safe and reliable day care. In addition, Save the Children is working through school systems in Louisiana and Mississippi to help children heal, recover and look toward the future.
