Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Recognized for our commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration, our work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families help themselves. We work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.
When disaster strikes around the world, Save the Children is there to save lives with food, medical care and education and remains to help communities rebuild through long-term recovery programs. As quickly and as effectively as Save the Children responds to tsunamis and civil conflict, it works to resolve the ongoing struggles children face every day — poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease — and replaces them with hope for the future.
Watch our brief video about the work and history behind Save the Children.
Grounded in our shared vision of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, Save the Children’s new mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Our new global vision, mission, values and strategy are very much a part of Save the Children’s longstanding principles and are consistent with our strategic priorities.
Each and every staff member and volunteer of Save the Children shares the values that, either individually or through teamwork, drive our breakthroughs for children.
Accountability: We take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results and being accountable to supporters, partners, and most of all, children.
Ambition: We demand the best of ourselves and our colleagues, set high goals and firmly commit to improving the quality of everything we do for children.
Collaboration: We respect and value each other, thrive on our diversity and work with partners to leverage our global strength in making a difference for children.
Creativity: We are open to new ideas, embrace change and take disciplined risks to develop sustainable solutions for and with children.
Integrity: We aspire to live to the highest standards of personal honesty and behavior; we never compromise our reputation and always act in the best interests of children.
Our Partner Survey
Save the Children joined a group of 24 nonprofit organizations from Europe and North America in surveying our local partners on a range of partnering aspects, from the financial and capacity building support we provide, to partnership administration and relationships, to the degree to which our partners feel we understand them and how we learn and improve as partner organizations.
See Where the Good Goes Campaign: Launched in June, See Where the Good Goes mobilizes citizen action in the U.S. to support local health care workers and community clinics worldwide in helping save more children from preventable or treatable illnesses.
Haiti Earthquake Disaster: Since the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, Save the Children has coordinated with Haitian authorities, the international community, local and international organizations and communities to reach an estimated 682,000 children and adults with lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance.
Rewrite the Future Campaign: Since 2006, Rewrite the Future has reached more than 12 million children in conflict-affected countries with access to improved education. Overall, the program has succeeded in enrolling one million children in school, the equivalent of opening two schools every day.
Child Hunger Crisis: By mid 2010, Save the Children had already surpassed its total 2009 child hunger program revenue, serving some of the hardest-hit countries, including Haiti, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malawi.
Preventing HIV/AIDS: Save the Children’s collaboration with the government in Bangladesh provided messages and youth-friendly health services to 700,000 young people to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. In Africa, Save the Children has instituted rigorous standards in the communities it supports for the care of orphans and vulnerable children. Save the Children now reaches 37 million children in 14 countries with these and other services.
School Health and Nutrition: Our School Health and Nutrition activities have helped more than 2 million children in 20 countries become healthier and better prepared to learn. Children who are undernourished or sick miss classes and fall behind in learning.
Building Public Support for Children: Save the Children has established itself as a leader in influencing polices and increasing resources toward the improvement of global child survival and resolution of the child hunger crisis. Advocacy based on our State of the World’s Mothers Report, which focused on health workers in the developing world, helped to win new commitments from the U.S. Congress for President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative. With the report and the push for the Global Health Initiative, which includes child health and nutrition programs, Save the Children has successfully channeled U.S government resources and policies to fight the problems of inadequate health care, nutrition, education and protection on behalf of children around the world.
Programs for Children in the United States: Save the Children provides high-quality early childhood development, literacy, and physical activity and nutrition programs to more than 21,000 children in underserved, rural communities in 14 states. Additionally, our disaster preparedness programs are helping at-risk communities across the country lay the groundwork for future emergencies. Save the Children’s U.S. Programs recently released a new report that revealed that 38 states and the District of Columbia have not enacted basic safeguards to protect children in school or child care during disasters. This year, Save the Children pushed for states to adopt four minimum standards to protect kids in disasters, as well as for federal passage of the Child Safety, Care and Education Continuity Act of 2010 (H.R. 5240/S. 2898). We also launched k2kUSA, an online campaign for kids to be advocates for each other and ensure every child a fair chance in life. Save the Children’s U.S. Programs was featured on American Idol’s Idol Gives Back telethon, which raised more than $45 million for our plan to help children living in rural poverty in the U.S.
Support Save the Children
Charitable contributions from people like you make it possible for us to support programs for mothers like Attyiat, and so much more. Please support our mission and work around the world with a gift to our Global Action Fund. You can count on us to be good stewards of your generous donation, helping vulnerable children and their families where the need is greatest with whatever they need the most.
Last Updated September 2011
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In fiscal year 2010, 90 percent of all expenditures went to program services. That percentage is an average for all of Save the Children's programs worldwide. The percentage spent on any particular program may vary.
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