THE OPPORTUNITY
Across the U.S., the experiences shaping children's lives are starkly different. Many children have the support they need to learn and develop, as well as an abundance of healthy food on their tables. For far too many other children, however, their families and communities struggle to provide them with the childhoods they deserve. As a result, large segments of our next generation are not prepared to succeed in life.
This is too often the reality for children living in rural America's poverty-stricken pockets. While poverty affects millions in the U.S., its strongest grip on children's lives is most often in rural communities.
Nearly 20% of children in the U.S. under the age of 18 live in rural America. In 40 of the 47 U.S. states with rural designated areas, the rate of rural child poverty is higher than in urban areas. For example, the poverty rate for children under six is more than 5% points higher for rural and urban children. Nationally, just 6-7% of private philanthropy goes to rural communities, yet those communities represent 20 percent of the population and comprise 78 percent of high-poverty counties.
Investment in children's early years creates lasting change throughout their lives, in their families, their communities and our nation.
MISSION AND VISION
Since 1932, Save the Children has helped rural communities across the U.S. invest in the greatest resource they have to create a better future: their children. We are committed to addressing children's unmet needs - going where others cannot, filling critical gaps in services and delivering scalable solutions to the challenges children and families face. Our programs work to ensure that children in America's rural communities have a healthy, strong foundation that will enable them to thrive as learners and in life.
WHERE WE WORK
In the United States, Save the Children concentrates our work in some of the most rural and under-resourced areas, where economic barriers are intensified by limited resources, geographic isolation and ever-growing disparities. We are the national leader in protecting children after emergencies and natural disasters, among the first to respond and the last to leave as we implement long-term recovery programs. In addition to providing direct services, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) leads national and state-specific advocacy efforts to engage and empower community members to advocate for effective early learning and child nutrition programs and policies.
