Save the Children: Big chill makes big difference to Save Children's lives

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Wednesday, 30, Jul 2008 12:00

Festival season is here and Save the Children and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department are continuing their summer-long presence at festivals around the UK by joining everyone at the Big Chill from Thursday 31st to Sunday 3rd August.

Continuing on from successes at Camp Bestival, the Leamington Peace Festival, Cambridge’s Strawberry Fair and the Big Tent Festival this summer, Save the Children hopes to inspire some of the 10,000 people having fun in the sun (or rain!) in Herefordshire to get involved with the charity’s biggest-ever global campaign. The aim is to stop the 10 million children still dying before their fifth birthday each year.

Adrian Lovett, Director of Communications at Save the Children said: “We’ve received over 4000 signatures for Gordon Brown on fifth birthday cards, to push for more to be done to save children’s lives – including as many as 20% of all the Camp Bestival goers last month! If we can continue to have the same impressive levels of response throughout the summer as we tour the festivals, we hope we’ll be giving children around the world a real reason to celebrate on their fifth birthdays.”

Save the Children and the European Commission, will have a stall at the Big Chill to raise awareness of child hunger and the vital role of food aid in keeping vulnerable children alive in the world’s poorest countries. Not getting enough food to eat is one the leading causes of children’s deaths around the world. Of the 10 million children who die each year before their fifth birthday malnutrition kills more than a third. This interactive stall will bring to life Save the Children’s work and their partnership with the Commission, and allows families to get involved.

There will be a feeding station just like one of the hundreds of stations the charity has set up in countries like Niger in West Africa, to reach thousands of malnourished children. Here festival-goers can find out about how children are classed as malnourished, what Save the Children does to help them and maybe even sample a life-saving paste given to really hungry children and babies. There will also be bags of fun and wacky freebies including arm bands and rain ponchos that people can wear to support our campaign, thirstaid water, cookies and goodie bags.

Everyone is invited to spend time at the ‘fifth birthday party’ themed tent. Visitors can show their support by writing fifth birthday cards that will be sent to Gordon Brown. There will also be party games and competitions. For when you’re done partying there will be chill-out area to kick back and relax or you can chat to the team from Save the Children.

Adrian Lovett continued: “The Big Chill is a great family day out. At Save the Children, we want families to know more about the many ways they can help save children's lives. We hope that people will join us in Herefordshire this weekend to take part in simple actions which can help stop millions of children dying before the age of five each year.”

The Save the Children stall and fifth birthday party will be in the kid’s area from midday on Thursday 31st to 6pm on Sunday 2nd August.

Save the Children will have campaigned at the following festivals this year: Strawberry Fair, Cambridge, 4 June Leamington Peace Festival, June 14, The Big Tent Festival, Fife, 25-27 July, Eisteddfod, 1st to 9th August, the Big Chill, V Festival, Stafford, 16-17 August and the Thames Festival, South Bank, 13-14 September.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• For more information about Save the Children at UK Festivals this year please contact Kate Redman in the Save the Children Press Office on 0207 012 68 63 or email k.redman@savethechildren.org.uk

• To find out more about our work on hunger please visit www.savethechildren.org.uk

• An example of a birthday card signed by a festival goer from Cambridge's Strawberry Fair is attached. For more messages from the last fair or photos , please contact Kate Redman on 0207 012 68 63 or email k.redman@savethechildren.org.uk

• Save the Children’s activity at UK festivals is being supported by the European Commission. Its Humanitarian Aid department is working to help those affected by humanitarian crises around the world, beyond its border. It is one of the world's largest humanitarian aid donors. For more information, please contact Janice George from the Commission on Janice.George@ec.europa.eu. Andrea KOULAIMAH GABRIEL, a Commission official, will be attending the festival.

• To find our more about the work of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

• Save the Children is the world’s leading independent children’s charity. We’re outraged that millions of children are still denied proper healthcare, food, education and protection. We’re working flat out to get every child their rights and we’re determined to make further, faster changes. How many? How fast? It’s up to you. For further information about our work please visit www.savethechildren.org.uk