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"We know from experience that children are always the most vulnerable during emergencies," Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children, said in a statement. "Children and families in and around Moore, Okla., have experienced destruction and loss and need our support to help them recover."
The group will deploy its Child Friendly Space kits in shelters, creating safe play areas where kids can be kids again, it said on its website. It will also supply infant and toddler hygiene materials to young children displaced from their homes.
Save the Children's programs have served thousands of children in major U.S. emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina and the tornado outbreaks in 2011 that devastated areas of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Joplin, Mo.
"Save the Children has led and supported child-focused community resilience building programs in Oklahoma over the last five years," the group said. "We will seek, not only to support the immediate needs of children in the tornado-affected communities, but also to partner with communities to strengthen their ability to protect children and help them recover when a disaster strikes."
Save the Children has also established an emergency fund to help the young survivors of the tornadoes.
"A major tornado is frightening for adults and even more so for children as families deal with loss of possessions and the destruction of their homes and schools," Save the Children says on its website. "In the wake of the recent emergency in Oklahoma, your support will help us offer immediate aid – especially for vulnerable children – as well as the long-term programs that will enable boys and girls to heal and live normal, happy lives once more."
To donate, visit the group's website.
Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world.
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