Celebrating National Children’s Day Every Day With ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF LOVE

National Children’s Day, celebrated each year on the second Sunday in June, is a special day dedicated to ensuring that our children are given faith, hope and love and that we demonstrate a tangible commitment to our children’s future. The day is a good reminder that what we sow today will be harvested in the world for years to come.

This year, children everywhere are experiencing the effects of a devastating pandemic. Those who are already vulnerable have been made more so, and those teetering on the margins have slipped entirely into that place. It would be easy to allow despair to take hold of our hearts and to succumb to apathy. However, we are called by Jesus to feed the hungry, care for the sick and welcome the stranger.

While the most substantial influence on our children is often family, good schools and nurturing communities also play a vital role in helping children reach their full potential. We all must work to promote an environment of hope and love for children.

In this way, Episcopal Relief & Development has committed to helping communities nurture children to their full potential. We know that the first years of a child’s life are the most important for brain development and overall health.

We also know that when we work to ensure that children have access to necessities like food, healthcare, clean water and most importantly, caregivers who have economic opportunities and nurture and love them, that they have the very best chance for a whole and healthy life. Data supports the fact that when we focus on lifting children in communities, we raise their families and indeed their whole community as well.

Our work with children contributes significantly to the growth of healthy and vibrant communities, and Episcopal Relief & Development’s campaign, ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF LOVE, is helping to support the expansion of our work with children. Not only are we giving the youngest and most vulnerable in our world a chance to thrive, but we are also working to build the world around them so that their success supports the great village that it takes to raise a child. What we sow today will be the great gift that leads to a better tomorrow. As I reflect on the year that has been, I am comforted by the reality that we are building a bright and blessed community of world-changers and leaders each day that we invest in a child.

Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

What a joy it is to share love, to give the gift of a full life to a child.