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Hunger: every 6 seconds a child dies from hunger. If you’re reading this, you can make a difference. Take action: https://www.wfp.org/donate/1billion

You can see where your donations will land on this map [PDF].

In America every one out of fifty children that goes to sleep without a home at night. As some children are wrapping themselves in their big comfortable sheets, some are searching only for a place to rest their head, and have a warm meal. There are a total of 1.5 million young people that are without a home in America. Luckily there are places in America that do offer help to these kids, and the families that they reside with. Especially in these economical times it’s hard for parents to support themselves and their family at the same time.

A child should never have their education taken away from them, even if they or their families do not have enough money to afford it. Education is one thing that every single person in America has the right to, and should follow through with because an education can better their lives. There are some organizations that do school those in need of an education. This is sometimes the only chance that a child gets at bettering their future for themselves.

Children that have no homes, or have families with no money can most of the time face very hazardous health problems. Living on the street is no place for anyone to be raised, or a bad household, no matter the circumstances. If an unfortunate child does not have the right health care growing up, then they may have some serious health problems as they grow older. The health problems can come from having no plumbing so they have to sit in their waste all day. Also, those in families with bad financial problems can face not eating for days, which can ruin their developing bodies, because they are never being nourished.

No one person should ever have to go through what a large portion of our worlds children go through today. Each and every adolescent on this earth should in some way receive a place to lay their head, a good meal, and the loving and caring of a family every single day. Even though the case may be that much of the younger generation are dying because of the situations they are in, we as a people are learning how to help inopportune adolescents in new ways every day.

The author is a professional freelance journalist who writes about a wide range of subjects including how Christian charities and others help children in need around the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_P_Stanfords

Think of the young children who have been abandoned or who have been left without shelter due to natural disasters or wars. Consider the thousands of children with medical conditions that limit their capabilities. It is heartbreaking to see what they are going through and it can put your own problems into perspective. For this reason, there are numerous charity organizations that aim to benefit the lives of young people stricken with certain setbacks.

The costs of medical treatment can be crippling to a family dealing with a child inflicted with cancer, diabetes, or cystic fibrosis. There are charity organizations that are set up to provide financial assistance to such families so that their children can continue to receive the medical treatment that gives them a chance at a normal life. Donating to children’s medical charities can help pay for medical research, free surgeries, or support and education while the child is in the hospital.

It is safe to say that children living in poverty are doing so through no fault of their own. Programs are organized to assist these children. They often deal with children living in developing countries, war torn areas, or places struck by major natural disasters. Every year, there are numerous disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis that have a devastating impact on people’s lives and children can be the most affected. There are children’s charities that specialize in providing aid and assistance to these children and their families immediately after the tragedy strikes.

The way children’s organizations raise funds differs from one organization to another. A few examples include telethons, car washes, celebrity auctions, or car washes. Regardless of how it’s done, there is an opportunity for you everyday to become involved in children’s charities.

One of the major reasons for charities that specialize in helping children is because they are often too young to help themselves. They are innocent victims of tragedy and they deserve a chance at a normal life. Every day, there is something you can do to make their lives better. Whether it’s contacting a charity directly or volunteering in a telethon, you will make a difference.

If you are interested in charity, one of the easiest things you can do is donate your car. Charity organizations are generally much easier to work with than the people you would deal with if you try to sell your car and it can provide a financial benefit in the form of a tax write-off. Your car will be used by the charity in one of many ways, such as getting to and from children’s homes to bring them valuable resources.

The American Relief Foundation invites you to help us provide poor children around America with support they need. If you lost your car title and cannot donate we have an excellent resource to link you directly to your DMV page to order a duplicate car title. We are looking for a New York Car Donation to help our cause. If you have an unwanted car consider a charity car donation.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Corrano

Fourteen million American children are hungry or at risk of hunger – that’s 30 percent of the population. These statistics prove that child poverty isn’t just a problem in the developing world; it’s a problem on our own shores, too. Yet child poverty in the United States could be alleviated for $45 billion, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty. Although that sounds like a huge amount of money, it is in fact less than the amount of money given in annual tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans during the 1980s and ’90s.

According to UNICEF, well over 650 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty, and those numbers are on the rise. Poverty is defined as a lack of access to basic education, adequate health care and a healthy diet. These three fundamental needs affect the rest of children’s lives, define what kind of jobs they end up with, whether they’ll be strong enough or have sufficient access to health care to fight off even the most common illnesses, and how they develop physically and mentally. Going hungry isn’t just a short-term problem – it leads to health care problems in the future, too.

The National Center for Children in Poverty reports that just $1 spent on childhood immunization saves the country $10 in later health costs. And with health provision becoming a major concern for every American, anything that can be done to prevent the situation from deteriorating further has to be the right thing to do.

Children in need who grow up in poverty pay a heavy price throughout their lives. Research has shown that they suffer from more illnesses, perform poorly in school, and have more risk of succumbing to mental health problems, drug dependency or falling into crime and the penal system. Yes, there are success stories, but they are few and far between in comparison to the millions of untold stories about the truth about children in poverty.

Communities that are free of poverty are free to choose their own destinies. But communities blighted by poverty, whether caused by famine, a lack of jobs or the failure of the state to support its most needy citizens, don’t have that freedom. Their destiny is preordained, and is a self-fulfilling prophecy that is almost impossible to break. Communities blighted by war are possibly the worst hit, with the innocent always suffering the greatest consequences.

Mohandas Ghandi, political and spiritual leader in India, said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” It is this battle that is the most crucial if we are to win the war on child poverty.

It isn’t just a matter of injecting cash into the poorest communities; there needs to be a fundamental change at ground level in how we tackle child poverty. If we concentrate on supporting those who are most vulnerable to the effects of poverty, the cycle can be broken and a change for the better can take hold. Much of this work is taken on by local churches, who see the Bible’s principles of loving thy neighbor as among the strongest weapons in the fight against child poverty. By encouraging one another to support and care for children in need, that community spirit can find fertile ground upon which to grow and flourish.

Child poverty is unacceptable, it’s destructive, and it’s an issue that should concern every single American. But most important, it can be changed. With compassion, care and a practical approach that tackles the root causes, child poverty can be consigned to the history books and no longer be a specter that haunts the modern age.

Author is an experienced freelance journalist who supports children in need and the continuing fight against child poverty by working with Christian charities to help make a difference to children around the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_P_Stanfords

By Jeremy P Stanfords

Child poverty strikes at the heart of communities and can shake the very foundations of a society if left unchecked. Today, according to a UNICEF report on international poverty, more than 1 billion people around the world live on less than U.S.$1 a day. This isn’t just confined to the poorer countries; detailed research by UNICEF also estimates that one in 10 children in so-called developed countries live below the poverty line. The National Center for Children in Poverty estimates that nearly 15 million American children live in poverty, their daily lives a continuous battle for survival, fighting the effects of poor nutrition, poor education, and a violent subculture that encourages development of street gangs, guns and drugs. Although the social context of poverty has to be taken into consideration (children in need in the squalid slums of Rio de Janeiro will be contextually poorer than a child living in Detroit, for example), the overall effect is one that negates the God-given right of every child to have a happy childhood, regardless of the culture that child is born into.

Child poverty is characterized as a lack of access to a basic education, a healthy diet and adequate health care. Even in the most developed countries, millions of children in need fall through the social net designed to provide everyone with the basic needs of life. As poverty grips a neighborhood, perhaps through the impact of the economic crisis the world still finds itself in, these basic necessities become harder to distribute fairly and evenly among those who need them most.

It isn’t just a matter of providing financial help. What is needed is a rebuilding of the community, decent jobs, housing, education, and even a clean supply of water. These basics are what give a community its sense of purpose back, a pride in what it can achieve, and that most Christian of values – a willingness to care for its neighbors. Twelve million American children have no health insurance, and millions of others have inadequate provision. Every day, 27 children in the United States die as a direct result of child poverty. These fundamental needs define poverty, whether in the Sudan or South Carolina.

By facing up to and dealing with poverty in our own backyard, we can understand more about its effects across the world, and begin to work out how we can help children in need – not just by simply throwing our spare dimes and nickels into a charity collection pot, but by crafting workable solutions that involve the communities themselves.

For every $1 invested in giving children in need a good start in life, the country saves $7 in costs spent on health and in meeting other basic needs. Defeating child poverty needs not just money, but a change in how we think.

Author is a freelance writer with a deep-seated concern for the effects of child poverty. An experienced journalist, she is an active supporter of Compassion International and the work it carries out to help children in need in communities blighted by poverty.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_P_Stanfords

Each Christian children’s ministry often works in a variety of ways. Some choose to give assistance to children in need from a prenatal level, by providing support and assistance to mothers-to-be. Educational programs on parenting, spiritual and emotional guidance and support, backed up with advice on nutrition and hygiene, are part of an approach that has a strong emphasis on prevention.

Because a Christian children’s ministry takes into account local culture and environment, the teaching and development programs for children in need can make God’s message more relevant and more useful – practically and spiritually. An effective children’s ministry will offer a church-led upbringing alongside parenting at home, Christ-centered childcare and guidance, and various types of support for children in need.

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What makes a children’s ministry so effective at fighting poverty and inequality in developing nations is an age-specific approach. This makes the religious aspect of the children’s development more relevant and focused on the issues they are likely to face as they grow and learn more about the world around them. Using the gospel as a directional tool, stories and teachings can be delivered in a format that engages with the local culture. In this way the children’s ministry can deliver God’s message to children in need alongside real and beneficial support.

By working in partnership with local churches across the world, a children’s ministry can create child development models to increase infant survival rates. Each ministry can organize and promote child sponsorship programs to ensure a locally relevant education and well-being strategy, and nurture lifelong skills and values that will help the children in need become responsible Christian adults. By combining social, economic, spiritual and physical support, children are given a real chance to discover the true meaning of Christianity. This can also help them to make sense of God’s creation.

Christians in the U.S. have expressed their hopes and prayers that these children in need in developing countries will get a real chance to live their lives according to the gospel, and grow and learn in order to fulfill their ambitions. Thanks to the work of each children’s ministry, Christians are also able to give directly for children in need for their spiritual and physical nourishment.

Through supporting a child charity we can be sure that our help is of real benefit to children in need. A small gesture, that costs just dollars a month, can transform the life of one particular child in need. And we know it because we can communicate with “our” child, exchanging letters and photographs and learning how our support is spent. This simple but life-changing way of giving involves sponsorship of an individual child in need – a boy or a girl.

A small, fixed sum of money is sent every month through the child charity, and ensures that children in need who are living in poverty:

• Are properly fed.
• Have clean drinking water.
• Receive health care including immunizations and medicines.
• Have secure shelter.
• Receive a good education leading to training opportunities.

It’s a lot for such a small amount. Yet child charity programs really do work, helping to ensure that children in need are lifted from the spiral of poverty, misery and deprivation and given hope. The secret to the success of supporting by sponsorship is the work done by the world’s best child charities. Over years of dedication and teamwork, each charity has established highly effective sponsorship and programs for supporting children in need in countries such as India, Peru, Uganda, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia and many other countries in the developing world. By reaching out and supporting children through a respected child charity, you can be sure that your dollars go to the children who need your help the most. But before you donate, learn about the child charity you have chosen and make sure it is reputable. Find out exactly how your money will be spent, and check out the charity’s results and accountability.

Christian charities offer something beyond material aid. They also promise to reach out to deprived children with spiritual nourishment, so that they learn about Jesus and His work, about the power of prayer, and about God’s love for each of them. As one child charity explained it, sponsored children are in need and vulnerable. They not only need physical care, but prayers for their health, safety, education and spiritual development.

A Christian child charity usually works in partnership with local churches in the developing countries. As well as the direct sponsorship for supporting individual children, charities might also be involved in other local projects such as improving clean water supplies and training teachers and health workers.

One of the most rewarding aspects for a sponsor is being in direct communication with the child they have chosen to reach out and support. Sponsors and children exchange letters, drawings and photographs and prayers. In addition, the sponsor receives regular reports about the child’s progress. It is a very personal way of giving, and the sponsor becomes a real and loved part of the family in time.

A child who is sponsored feels very blessed. Not only will he or she grow up healthy and educated, but also with the knowledge that someone thousands of miles away has reached out to care for the child’s welfare. Reaching out to children in need by supporting through sponsorship really is God’s work in action.