ChildFund International Asks Americans to Say 'Yes'

-- Every day 24,000 children die from lack of food or clean water or from preventable diseases.

-- Many vulnerable children have heard "no" their entire lives.

-- ChildFund International is promoting its sponsorship program so that these children will hear "yes."

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every day 24,000 children die from lack of food or clean water or from preventable diseases. Many other children have heard "no" their entire lives.

ChildFund International wants to change the "no" to a "yes."

For 100 days starting Oct. 14, ChildFund is looking for sponsors to say yes to sponsoring a child. The goal is 100 sponsors each day for 100 days.

"We know that Americans care deeply about the plight of children around the world," says ChildFund President and CEO Anne Lynam Goddard.

ChildFund recently conducted a survey and found that one in three Americans placed helping the world's poor children as the number one charitable priority. "It's heartening that Americans are so willing to look beyond our borders to help those children in need in other countries," Goddard adds. "And a small amount of support goes a long way."

Sponsorship costs $28 a month — less than $1 a day.

The current economic crisis has further impacted the plight of these children. World food prices have skyrocketed. Some families now eat two meals instead of three, Goddard says. In addition, because meat is expensive, many families are foregoing this protein source.

Increasing gasoline and transportation costs mean that families can't afford to travel for health care. Some aren't able to get to their employment. Children are being pulled out of school so they can go to work.

"Saying 'yes' to sponsorship will make a difference," Goddard says. "At ChildFund we believe, that if you change a childhood, you change the world."

ChildFund International, formerly named Christian Children's Fund, is a global child development and protection agency serving more than 15.2 million children and their family members in 31 countries. For more than 70 years, we have helped the world's deprived, excluded and vulnerable children survive and thrive to reach their full potential and become leaders of enduring change. As a member of the ChildFund Alliance we create supportive environments in which children can flourish.

SOURCE ChildFund International