Greenwich Benefit for Save the Children

From Save The Children

Mark Kennedy Shriver, NBC “TODAY” host Willie Geist and members of the Greenwich community and surrounding towns gathered at an evening reception Thursday night at the Riverside Yacht Club to recognize the legacy of a man dedicated to improving the lives of all children, while also raising funds and awareness for an organization that is doing that every day: Save the Children.

The evening benefit, hosted by Save the Children’s Greenwich Leadership Council, featured an informal interview between Geist and Shriver — son of the founder of the Peace Corps, Robert Sargent Shriver,  Jr. — who discussed his father’s legacy, as both the Peace Corps founder and the architect of the U.S. War on Poverty, initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson 50 years ago. 

Shriver, who is the senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Save the Children, also discussed his own mission to help improve the lives of children in the United States and all over the world.

Reception proceeds will benefit Westport-based Save the Children’s efforts to give disadvantaged children a healthy start and the opportunity to learn, starting in the early years.

“All across America and all across the world, when groups like the Greenwich Leadership Council get involved and get engaged in Save the Children’s work, it makes a big difference,” said Shriver. “It makes a big difference, whether we’re raising money, raising visibility, or putting pressure on politicians to take kids issues seriously. It really comes from the grass roots, and the Greenwich Leadership Council does a great job of that.”

“We’re hoping to raise awareness about all the good things around the world that Save the Children is doing for kids,” said Angelique Bell, president of the Greenwich Leadership Council. “A lot of people are familiar with Save the Children’s emergency work, but people may not know that, in the U.S., Save the Children has literacy and nutrition programs for children.”

All attendees of the evening benefit received a signed copy of Shriver’s new book, “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.”