Save the Children Board Chair Dr. Jill Biden was the Advocacy Summit’s keynote speaker on Monday

Media Contact: Allie Wright, [email protected], (202) 794-1823

Washington, D.C. (March 29, 2017) – Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Representatives Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va., received the Champions for Children award Tuesday during the annual Invest In Kids Advocacy Summit, hosted by Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network (SCAN).

“We are honored to present these awards to these Congressional champions for kids,” said Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children. “We’d like to thank them for their dedication to improving access to high-quality early childhood education in the United States and ending the preventable deaths of mothers and children around the world.”

“I’m thrilled to honor these leaders in Congress alongside hundreds of advocates who traveled from across the country to meet with their elected officials and urge them to invest in kids,” said Mark Shriver, President of SCAN. “Without their support, much of the progress we’ve made for children around the world would not be possible.”

Advocates from across the country traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to attend in-depth advocacy trainings and urge lawmakers from both parties to make key investments in early childhood education in the U.S. and maternal, newborn and child survival programs overseas. Specifically, attendees asked lawmakers to oppose deep budget cuts to foreign aid and domestic early childhood education programs such as Head Start that will have disastrous impacts on the health, education and safety of mothers and children at home and abroad.

During the 2017 Advocacy Summit, more than 200 advocates – including 70 high school and college students – from more than 30 states met with more than 130 lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Save the Children Board Chair Dr. Jill Biden gave keynote remarks at the Advocacy Summit on Monday, March 27^th.

(At the 2017 Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) Advocacy Summit, advocates from across the country met with Save the Children Board Chair Dr. Jill Biden. Biden was the event’s keynote speaker on Monday, March 27. More than 200 advocates went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 28, to ask their members of Congress to invest in early childhood education and maternal and child health programs in the United States and around the world. Photo by Susan Warner, Save the Children)

Editor’s note: High resolution photos available upon request.

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Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We invest in childhood — every day, in times of crisis and for our future. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Save the Children Action Network is the political voice for kids. We believe that every child deserves the best start in life. That’s why we’re building bipartisan will and voter support to make sure every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early learning and that no mother or child around the globe dies from a preventable disease or illness. By investing in kids and holding leaders accountable, we are helping kids from birth to age five survive and thrive. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.