Remarkable People

About Us

The International Red Cross is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The movement's parts are:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

Our Vision  

Save the Children's vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

Our Mission  

Save the Children's mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Our Values

ACCOUNTABILITY: We take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, children.

AMBITION: We are demanding of ourselves and our colleagues, set high goals and are committed to improving the quality of everything we do for children.

COLLABORATION: We respect and value each other, thrive on our diversity, and work with partners to leverage our global strength in making a difference for children.

CREATIVITY: We are open to new ideas, embrace change, and take disciplined risks to develop sustainable solutions for and with children.

INTEGRITY: We aspire to live to the highest standards of personal honesty and behaviour; we never compromise our reputation and always act in the best interests of children.

Launched in 2006 by Rachael Ray, Yum-o!® is a nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships.

Through our three core work areas of Cook, Feed and Fund, Yum-o! educates kids and their families about food and cooking by offering an interactive website that enables young cooks to get started in the kitchen and try out family-friendly recipes; teams up with partner organizations to feed hungry children; and funds innovative cooking programs in schools and educational opportunities for kids who are interested in pursuing careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry.

COOK – Educating kids and their families about food and cooking
Yum-o! educates kids and their families about food and cooking, enabling them to get started in the kitchen while making meals that are easy, healthy, affordable and delicious. The Yum-o! website (www.yum-o.org) is the central place where Yum-o! provides tools and resources for young cooks, such as recipes and tips for the kitchen. The How Cool Is That? section on the website showcases innovative programs and organizations in schools and communities across the country, while the Your Stories section offers website visitors the opportunity to share how they spend time together cooking and eating.

FEED – Feeding hungry American kids
Despite living in the world's richest country, a startling number of Americans go hungry every year. According to a study completed by the UDSA in 2006, the rate of food insecurity for American households in 2005 was 11%, which means that more than 35 million people did not have access to enough food to meet their basic needs. Nearly 13 million of these people were children – that's almost 1 in 5 kids! These food insecure and hungry kids can be found in urban and rural areas in all geographic regions of the country. They are raised in dual and single parent homes and represent all races and ethnicities.

Hunger in America has been, and continues to be, a real problem for a significant part of our population. Therefore, Yum-o! is making the fight against hunger a part of our mission by partnering with organizations such as Share Our Strength® (SOS) in support of their leading priority: ending childhood hunger in America. Yum-o! also works with organizations throughout the country to raise awareness about and contribute to special projects that address this issue.

Watch Share Our Strength: Strength in Numbers, a video illustrating the magnitude of childhood hunger in America.

FUND – Funding cooking education and scholarships
Yum-o! recognizes the wide variety of restaurant and foodservice industry opportunities for young people making career choices today. Yum-o! helps kids reach their food-related career goals by funding scholarships and recognizing public schools that are offering food or nutrition programs that incorporate healthy choices. We accomplish this through our partnerships with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Learn more about our efforts in each area.