United States
of America
Our Work for Children in the U.S.
Across rural America, where one in 5 children live in poverty, families face significant challenges accessing vital resources and essential services like child care, quality education and economic opportunity. That's why Save the Children partners with rural communities, and has for over 90 years, to help children thrive—from early learning and Head Start to disaster recovery.
Your donation to Save the Children can help deliver critical aid to the most vulnerable kids in rural America.
Our Resources
Education
Together with partners, Save the Children works to bring early education to hundreds of communities across rural America.
Emergency Response
Save the Children is dedicated to supporting children, families, and communities navigating the unique challenges of long-term recovery after disasters.
Program Spotlight: Hunger-Free Communities
In 2024-2025 Save the Children piloted Hunger-Free Communities in 3 rural communities in Texas. We worked closely with anchor institutions in each community, providing funding, technical assistance and training, and evaluation expertise. We are finalizing learnings from the pilot and look forward to sharing out our findings to further support and champion a Hunger-Free Communities approach. We are preparing to expand our support of Hunger-Free Communities in other rural communities in 2026 and beyond.
For Save the Children, taking a Hunger-Free Communities approach means that many different local organizations and individuals must come together to set clear goals, develop a specific action plan, and bring their strengths and resources to the table to solve hunger in their community. This can include representatives from local businesses, government, food relief organizations, schools, nonprofits, faith-based groups and other community members, working collaboratively to address hunger as a key issue. All solutions are developed and led by the community itself.
Advocate for Children in the U.S.
Right now, $7 billion in previously approved federal education funding is currently on hold. This delay could force summer and afterschool programs, as well as other safe learning environments, to shut down. Education programs are running out of time.
Join Save the Children's political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), and Tell Congress: Demand the Department of Education release these funds NOW.
Save the Children's Rural Child Well-Being Dashboard: Understanding Childhood in Rural America
Explore the lives of rural America’s children and families with Save the Children’s Rural Child Wellbeing Dashboard. See how well-being in your state compares to the nation, or investigate specific indicators like poverty, food security, vehicle access and opportunity.
- Rural families are nearly 20% more likely to receive public assistance than non-rural families.
- Rural households are more vulnerable to natural disasters.
- Over 1 in 20 households in rural America don’t have a private vehicle, making it difficult to access childcare and other essential services.
Updated: July 9, 2025
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