Save the Children to Help Central Florida Children Recover from Tornadoes

In the wake of the deadly tornadoes that struck central Florida on February 2, Save the Children is dispatching a team of experts to assist children and their families who live in areas hardest hit by the storm.

"Our focus is to provide support for children affected by this natural disaster," said Mark K. Shriver, vice president and managing director for Save the Children's U.S. programs. "We know from our work on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and our response to emergencies around the world that the unique needs of children often get lost in the confusion during an emergency."

Save the Children plans to work with schools and shelters, providing specially tailored activities to bring some normalcy into children's lives and help them heal emotionally. The agency is reaching out to area emergency shelters to provide safe play kits and activities for children uprooted by the tornadoes.

Save the Children also will offer its signature emotional-support programs -- which have assisted thousands of displaced children in Louisiana and Mississippi during the past 18 months -- to schools in central Florida, to help children and their adult caregivers cope with the disaster and process their experiences. In addition, the agency will assess child-care needs in the area, offering assistance where needed.

"Save the Children has provided emotional-support programs to more than 11,000 children who live in the area impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and we hope to provide similar support to the children of central Florida who have experienced the loss and insecurity that comes from a disaster," said Shriver. "Children are very resilient, but they do need parental and community support to help them in the recovery process."

Save the Children, 1-800-728-3843, website: http://www.savethechildren.org

Our Address: 54 Wilton Road, Westport, CT, 06880