DC Charity Spotlight: Global Action for Children

WISH LIST $100: 2 hours' preparation of the educational e-newsletter; $500: creating materials on the Child Marriage Act to educate 50 congresspeople; $1000: 1 day of meetings on the Hill to protect funding for children

Some 143 million children in the developing world have lost one or both parents and many more are vulnerable, facing serious risks to their survival and well-being: discrimination based on stigma, sexual exploitation, slave labor, and forced servitude in armed conflicts. Recent studies have shown that when children grow up poor and hopeless, they are more likely to participate in civil unrest and be conscripted into insurgencies, making this a pressing national security issue as well. Global Action for Children leads advocacy efforts on issues facing orphans and highly vulnerable children, and on child survival and development. A non-partisan, independent organization that takes no government funds, GAC educates key policymakers and the public to improve care for orphans and vulnerable children, focus attention on maternal health and child survival, prevent child marriage, improve access to basic education, protect children from sexual abuse, and aid those involved in or affected by armed conflict. Advocacy organizations don’t compete with direct service organizations; they “grow the pie" for everyone. You can too.

Jennifer Delaney,

Executive Director 1413 K Street NW, 6th Floor Washington, DC 20005 202-589-0808 globalactionforchildren.org