Actress Julianne Moore and her children have turned the Valentine’s Day lead-up into a charity drive with a new initiative called the Hopeful Hearts Program. As part of the program, Valentine’s Day cards featuring children’s artwork can be printed or e-mailed to classmates and sweethearts, in return for donations to Save the Children.
“In a land of such wealth and prosperity, it is shocking to see so many children and their families struggling to get by,” said Moore, after a visit to the Appalachian Mountains to see Save the Children programs in action. “In fact, in rural America, one-in-five children live in poverty. After seeing that kind of devastation firsthand, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing, so I talked to my kids about it. Since Valentine’s Day has always been a time to show you care, we approached Save the Children with this special Valentine’s Day campaign.”
In the US, Save the Children provides programs for physical activity, nutrition, early childhood education and literacy to over 35,000 children in some of the poorest communities. Thirty minutes of daily physical activity is provided in the forms of walking, hiking, yard work, dancing, bicycling, jogging, aerobics, basketball and playing tag, along with nutritional snacks and education to battle the obesity epidemic. The Early Steps to School Success program educates parents and their children up to 5 years old on language, social and emotional development, and, through the Literacy Block program, children receive guided reading practice and in-school support for struggling readers.
“I was particularly moved to see firsthand how these programs are helping to foster children’s love of reading by teaching new moms about early learning activities for their young children and helping struggling students overcome obstacles to reading,” said Moore.
Vice President and Managing Director of the U.S. programs, Mark Shriver, said Save the Children is thrilled to have Ms Moore launch the Hopeful Hearts campaign.
The cards are available at www.savethechildren.org until February 14.
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