Credible and Worth While

      In recent news, Save the Children has been ranked as a top U.S. charity for spending its money efficiently according to Forbes, "Top 200 Largest U.S. Charities" for 2011. Forbes list ranks charities on the measure of a nonprofit's level of fundraising efficiency based on private donations for a given year and its charitable commitment. This isn't the only ranking that Save the Children has received however. The organization was also ranked one of the best charities in the U.S. by Charity Navigator who reviews more than 5,500 U.S. charities for financial efficiency, accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator gave Save the Children four out of four possible stars, for its tenth year in a row.

      In 2010, Save the Children gave 90 percent of its overall expenses to programs benefiting children and kept the private cost to raise a dollar below 10 cents, one of the best ratios among nonprofit organizations. This is one of the reasons Save the Children is continuously ranked as one of the best charities in the United States.

      One of the problems we have with charities and organization today is that they can't be trusted. Often times what they say is going to happen with all of the money, doesn't. Most of the money will go to their cause but some of it will be pocketed for the members of the organization. Lies are told about how much percent is going where and exactly what the money is going to. This leaves people questioning what organizations are actually doing good and which ones they should actually put their money towards. With Save the Children, people can trust that their money is directly going to a good cause.

      This past summer, I worked with underprivileged children in South Carolina. The kids had little to nothing, and reading, writing, and math skills were way behind what they should be for their age. Working directly with Save the Children, I can say from experience that they are doing amazing things and people's money is truly going where it should be. Do you donate to charities? If so, where? Before donating your money you should really make sure that the organization is credible. If you are still a student like me, donating money is probably not an option so look into programs, volunteer your time instead. What are your hobbies and skills? Because I'm sure whatever they are, they would greatly be appreciated in one of Save the Children's programs that fits you.

Helping Hungry and Unhealthy Haiti

Haiti Facts

• Population of over 9 million people
• More than half of all people live in abject poverty
• Hundreds of thousands remain homeless after the 2010 quake
• Poorest country in western hemisphere
• More than 2/3rds of labor force do not have jobs
• Less than 25% of people living in cities have access to clean water
• 500,000 children live in camps and many others live in slums, all lacking the protection of social and police services

Save the Children's Efforts in Haiti

Welcome Centers
To protect vulnerable children living in Haiti, Save the Children has created Welcome Centers for street children in urban areas of Haiti. These centers provide food and shelter, education and health programs and counseling and play opportunities. They also offer scholarship assistance so that children can attend school and provide on-site lessons to prepare children for formal schooling.


Education and Schools
Save the Children implements a rural education program in community, government and mission schools. They try to receive more resources for Haiti's schools. Children benefit from their school health and nutrition activities, medication, iron supplementation and hygiene training, all of which help them stay in school and improve their daily lives.


Health Programs
Working together with the Ministry of Health, Save the Children provides health care for mothers and young children who need it in Haiti. They help prevent and treat malaria, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases and also train health care workers. On top of that, they invest in medical equipment and develop community-based health committees to promote local participation. In addition, Save the Children vaccinates children, provides them with supplemental vitamins and micronutrients, and address common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea. Save the Children projects also increase access to potable drinking water and oral re-hydration therapies. Reproductive health activities promote family planning, pre- and post-natal visits, safe deliveries and sexual education. All of these benefits Haiti greatly because many people living their suffer in dealing with these things.

I think doing all of this work is outstanding. Haiti is a very poor country that could really use as much help as possible. It's good to see that some people are really trying to help the people of Haiti and not just by sending them money or their condolence. What do you think about all of this work? Does Haiti need the help and do you really think that Save the Children is making a difference? Maybe they are missing some key things that they should add to their programs in Haiti, any ideas?

Get your Vaccinations!

This video contains information on Save the Children's efforts to save children's lives. A little less than a year a go, they launched a massive vaccination program to stop children in poor living conditions from dying from curable diseases. What do you think about these vaccinations? Do you think they helped a lot or not?
Save the Children Launches Massive Vaccination... by NTDTV

Doing Good for the World

Save the Children is an organization that works daily in helping improve children and families who live in poverty or are dealing with a natural disaster. Their program areas are child protection, education and child development, health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS, and livelihoods. They work in 27 different countries, including our own, doing their best to help improve these children and families who need help. What they do every day is amazing and they have really helped in changing people's lives and even this world.

In creating this blog, I hope to inspire people enough to go out and make a difference. Even if its something small, volunteering your time or help can really mean a lot to people. Over the summer, I was privileged enough to work with Save the Children and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to see a whole new world and really started to feel true gratitude for what I have in my life.

There are so many people out there in need and although we do somewhat realize it, you don't truly understand it until you see it. Commercials are shown almost every day and advertisements for organization similar to Save the Children and people feel awful when watching them but think about it, do you ever get up and actually do something? Do you ever follow through with it? I know I hadn't up until this past summer and now I try to do as much as I can. What would you like to do to help? Most likely, Save the Children can help you in doing this because they probably have volunteering groups just for it!