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Dear everyone,

I hope this note finds you well rested and getting back into the swing of
things after the long break, the East Coast blizzard and holiday travel
tumult. Save the Children’s U.S. Programs begins the New Year at full
momentum. Here’s what’s happening.

If you use *Facebook* or have friends and family who use it, you are
probably familiar with (or even addicted to!) games like *Farmville* and *Cafe
World*. These games and more than a dozen others are owned and designed by*
Zynga*, which, as of last year, is the number one gaming company in the
world.

Zynga reaches millions of young, active and connected Facebook users and
takes social responsibility very seriously. They have done work on behalf
of Haiti relief and the U.N. World Food Programme, but the company was
anxious to engage their users in the fight against poverty in the United
States.

We are deeply honored that they partnered with us, engaging thousands of
gamers at *Cafe World*, *YoVille* and *Zynga Poker*. Zynga’s partnership
with U.S. Programs allowed users of these games to buy special game
elements, with proceeds supporting our work on behalf of the *1 in 5 kids
living in poverty in the United States*. *Please check out at Zynga.org* (
http://www.zynga.org) to learn more about the company and its commitment to
social responsibility.

Our efforts to keep the pressure on in the fight against childhood obesity
took a new and important turn last month. In late November, *Sarah Palin* made
comments criticizing *Michelle Obama*’*s *anti-obesity campaign, saying it’s
“government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us
according to some politician or politician's wife's priorities."

I wrote the this piece on *The Huffington Post* (http://huff.to/hPZcqX)
inviting Mrs. Palin to visit our programs, learn about the extent of the
crisis and help us find solutions. Just a few weeks later, both the
editorial page editor of *The Washington Post (*http://wapo.st/gaofTF) and
the editorial board of *The Wall Street Journal* (http://on.wsj.com/gG62k9)
joined in to support Mrs. Obama’s efforts.

This episode cemented the notion that the obesity crisis -- which affects as
many as half the kids we serve -- is an American crisis that needs the
urgent attention of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives and
everyone who cares about the current and future health of America.

Finally, our artist ambassador *Julianne Moore*, who is the godmother of our
four-year-old Valentine’s Day project, was interviewed as part of a
*CNN* special
on actors and their causes that aired throughout the holiday season. The
special was timed to the kick-off of our *2011 Valentine’s Day campaign*,
which includes five kid contest winners and a half dozen youth celebrity
artists, including *Nat and Alex Wolff*, *Jordin Sparks*, *Greyson Chance*
and *Corbin Bleu*.

You can see *Julianne Moore’s CNN interview here*: http://bit.ly/gSYf0d.
You can also *order Valentine’s Day cards* right now at http://bit.ly/hW33cR
.

We’ll have all the details about this year’s Valentine’s Day campaign next
month as well as news about what the new Congress and the President’s State
of the Union Address mean for the kids we serve.

Until then, I hope you have a productive, healthy and happy start to the New
Year.

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