There are many popular charities that people donate to throughout the year and especially during the holiday season. However, there are many children’s charities that lack the media attention needed to create public awareness. Some of these U.S.-based organizations additionally come to the aid of youngsters around the world.
SOS Children’s Villages
When a family of multiple young children lose a parent, they are often split up and put in different foster homes. Rarely are the youngsters allowed to stay together. However, the SOS Children’s Villages organization strives to deal with this problem by creating villages that enable the young victims a chance to remain a family. Thus far, the group has provided approximately 52,000 abandoned and orphaned little ones in 131 countries with homes. Villages consist of up to 10 group homes having six to eight children and two adults.
Youth Law Center
The mission of this organization involves ensuring children’s rights in foster-care situations, children’s shelters, and within the criminal justice system. When the Youth Law Center receives a report of substandard conditions, an advocate investigates the circumstances. They, in turn, notify officials of the problem in an attempt to force improvements or the prevention of services.
I Have a Dream Foundation
In 1981, Gene Lang made a vow to his Harlem sixth-grade alma mater that he would pay each student’s college tuition upon their high school graduation. Approximately 60 percent of the students accepted the challenge and attended college. His idea grew in recognition and was soon replicated in 64 U.S. cities. Today, there are more than 180 projects vowing to help tens of thousands of students achieve a college education. Studies of the program determined that the students were more likely to remain law-abiding and resist peer pressure.
Doctors of the World
The youngest of residents are often overlooked in countries devastated by war or economic collapse. Children may suffer abandonment or become orphans. Impoverished communities have difficulty making a difference. Volunteers belonging to the DOW group travel to various world locations to provide medical assistance. They offer prenatal and postnatal care to mothers and infants along with helping to protect children’s rights. The organization has more than 400 programs in more than 80 countries that include the United States operated by thousands of volunteers.