Save the Children

Save the Children stands as one of the oldest and largest independent organizations working to improve the lives of children around the world. Founded in 1919, this non-governmental group delivers humanitarian aid, runs long-term development programs, and pushes for stronger protections for kids everywhere. It functions as a federation of about 30 national members that coordinate through Save the Children International while keeping significant autonomy. The group holds consultative status with the United Nations and reaches children in roughly 120 countries.

Its work spans emergency responses to wars, natural disasters, and health crises as well as sustained efforts in health care, education, nutrition, and economic support. Save the Children pioneered the child sponsorship model that many other charities later adopted. It also played a key role in creating the first international statement on children's rights in 1924. Today the organization responds quickly to new emergencies yet stays in communities for years to help rebuild stronger systems that protect and nurture kids.

Save the Children maintains a firm non-political and non-sectarian stance. Its programs emphasize both immediate survival needs and longer-term goals so children can learn, grow, and feel safe. The federation's combined reach makes it a major force in global child welfare, with Save the Children USA operating as one of its biggest and most influential members. [edit]

Save the Children works so every child has a future. The organization focuses on four main outcomes: children survive, children learn, children are protected, and children participate in decisions that affect them. It delivers health services, quality education, nutrition support, child protection programs, and economic opportunities for families. The group responds rapidly to disasters and conflicts while building long-term resilience in communities.

Beyond direct aid, Save the Children advocates for policies that put children's needs first at national and global levels. It remains guided by the belief that all children deserve equal opportunity regardless of where they live or what challenges they face. [edit]

Save the Children began in London in April 1919. Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton created it after seeing the terrible effects of the Allied blockade on children in Germany and Austria following World War I. The sisters had first worked through the Fight the Famine Council but decided to form a new group focused solely on child relief. They held a public meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in May 1919 to launch the Save the Children Fund. Early efforts sent food and medicine to starving children in Europe. Jebb once got arrested for handing out leaflets in Trafalgar Square yet won public sympathy when the judge paid her fine and became the first donor.

In 1924 Jebb wrote the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The League of Nations adopted it, marking the first time an international body recognized that children have specific rights. The organization grew quickly. The American branch started in 1932 during the Great Depression by offering hot lunches to children in Harlan County, Kentucky. This program improved both attendance and school performance. Over the following decades Save the Children expanded from emergency relief into longer-term development work across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

National groups formed the Save the Children Alliance in the 1970s to better coordinate their efforts. This became Save the Children International. The federation now includes members from more than 30 countries working in about 120 locations. Throughout its history the group has responded to major crises including famines in Ethiopia, conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and natural disasters across many regions. It has consistently combined immediate aid with advocacy for children's rights. [edit]