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Dear everyone,

The swarm of tornadoes that has turned towns into rubble across the
Southeast can now be counted as the worst domestic natural disaster of the
new decade.

With hundreds of people dead, thousands of families forced from their homes
and history as a guide, we know that the group most deeply and severely
affected by this catastrophe will be children.

Because thousands of families are newly homeless, kids may be forced into
temporary housing, community centers or relatives’ homes for weeks or
months. The devastation could also include severely damaged child care
centers across the region. This means kids will be displaced, suffer
long-term emotional distress and parents won’t be able to get back to work
if they have to care for their kids on a daily basis.

*U.S. Programs has a team of relief and recovery experts on the ground right
now in Alabama and Mississippi *assessing the situation for children and
providing relief.

We are working with FEMA and the Red Cross to distribute vital supplies like
diapers and portable cribs to hundreds of families. We are also working to
create child-friendly areas in local assistance centers and working to
ensure that child care centers can reopen quickly so that parents can get
back to work and the local economy can be reenergized.

If you would like to help us - - and I truly hope you can - - you can donate
to our *Southern United States Tornado in Emergency Fund* right here: *
http://bit.ly/mEEdbV*.

Thank you for any support you can provide and please know that your
donations will be used specifically for this relief and recovery effort.

In a tragic Washington, D.C. irony, just as the tornadoes were striking,
Congress sat idly by and let the National Commission on Children and
Disasters shut down. I blogged about this blow to our national disaster
strategy on *The Huffington Post:* *http://huff.to/inZ54Q.
*
Also this month, there are two videos I want to share.

As you know, our relentless* Artist Ambassador Jennifer Garner* has been
consistently beating the advocacy drum on the power of early childhood
education. Last week, she appeared on *CBS’s The Talk* to discuss her work
with us and the kids we serve. *Take a look: http://bit.ly/fft2Rs*.

As a complement to Jennifer’s interview, please also check out this amazing
viral video on the power of early childhood education from our partners at *The
First Five Fund: http://youtu.be/xo8C0Xtdlik.* Please share the video on
Facebook, Twitter, email or anyplace you can help get the word out!

That’s all for now, but I will keep you updated on our work in the Southeast
and please let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas about our efforts
there.

Warmly,

Mark


Mark K. Shriver
Senior Vice President, US Programs
2000 L Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Phone: (202) 640-6627
Fax: (202) 640-6950

www.savethechildren.org/us