I loved sponsoring a child for many years.Due to unforseen circumstances I had to discontinue.My issue is when I cancelled my sponsorship they never notify the accounting department.After the third attempt of telling them and still seeing no results and still receiving bills I resorted to a review. read more

To me this can be considered fraud. I was approached on my day off from work at a shopping mall in LA, they were so annoying and persistent that I decided to give them a one time payment of $36. After a few days I found it strange that they removed $36 twice from my bank account. When I saw that I asked for a new Debit/Credit Card and thought it was resolved. 2 weeks later they took twice the same amount of $36 making me think that they are able to grab your bank details. DO NOT give money to this "charity." When I try to call to cancel a payment and see what's going on they NEVER answer the phone. And on their site there is no "Cancel" button, only says for me to call costumer service. My Bank is currently crediting my account for all the $36 removed by Save the Children. And they are being investigated for fraud. read more

They put me on auto monthyl repay -- and when I asked to speak with a manager on the phone they said they are "busy" Asked for an email confirmaton "we do not do that." Asked for a supervisor, they say leave a message and phone rings without any pick up or voicemail. This place has a big cause with a very very shady business practice. read more

I came back to Save the Children earlier this and this time I'm not using it for my tithing but I'm just donating $10/mo. And yes I have read that it is a spam site, but I'm saying a prayer that the $10 will help feed a starving child. And I'm giving it a 5 rating because I'm just going to just go on faith that it is a legit site. read more

Crooks!!! If they are not, they have a very funny way of dealing with things!!! Back in October, I had to run into Mother's Market to grab some flour for my dog treats. I come out to be nearly blocked from getting through from one of the two people working for this company. She then rambled on about how many children are dying each day and asked how it was acceptable, etc. She then went to explain how they supposedly worked and said that I could help for just $1 a day! While that is a good deal to help people in need, I did state that I was currently not working and could not do this. She then asked for 50 cents a day. Fine. Whatever. She then whipped out her tablet, took my info, phone number, address, even credit card. The whole shi-bang! Based off other reviews, they do not take cash and I did not ask, but I can see why now. They can't trap you that way. I should have been smart and been like the lady who said she was on her lunch and darted off. I didn't think. I finally got out of this and left. I thought later about how I did not like how I was approached and blocked like I was, and did realize that I do need my money right now until things are back on track. I figured I would cancel later. (Yeah, good luck!) Well a week or so later my bank decided to send me a new card with that annoying chip. (Do these work? I hope so). Well, with it being a whole new number, I guess I did not have to worry about this place. Wrong! So they could not take my payment automatically, and I received an email that they would contact me by phone and email. Whatever. Most "charities" leave you alone once they can't get payment. Not these guys. They actually had the nerve to send me a statement with a PAST DUE amount, and a current amount. WHAT? I have never had a "charity" try to debt collect like you owe them on a bill. I wrote them a very frustrated email, explained how this is wrong, that I was not working, and to cancel my account. I felt this was harassment now, as if it wasn't with the way they started this. A few months go by, no response. However, I did receive a new bill. $45 past due, $60 due now. Excuse me??? What kind of "charity" is this???? I wrote a frustrated response and mailed it back, and even paid for the freakin' postage. So I imagine they are ignoring that too. I get random numbers calling my phone too often. It gets annoying and old. Spammers need a life. This 562 number started calling my phone every few days or so. I looked it up, it just stated the location and what telephone company it was under. I put it on my auto reject list after the third call. I really wish I could block numbers. Now this number called three days in a row. I called back, and guess what? Some recording calling ON BEHALF OF SAVE THE CHILDREN! This is insane!!!! I clicked the numbers to get off the calling list, but it could take up to 30 days. You have got to be kidding me. I am fed up, this is beyond harassment. These guys are crooks. Based off other reviews, the people who block you with their tablets are getting paid too. If anyone has any suggestions about what other actions one can take, and legal ones if needed I would love to know. When I am able, I will be donating to legit charities. read more

Financially, at least from the annual report the org is doing fine. From a donor perspective, I don't like their extremely aggressive marketing on the street. But what really stops me from contributing via them is, the mails from similar charities asking for onboarding. I don't know how my personal information got disclosed and passed around to other organizations. It might not be their fault though but why suddenly a number of charity organizations started shooting me mails? Again, when I was first "pulled over" by a volunteer from them, I really wanted to just donate cash but they insisted on creating account. That hit my bottom line. read more

I'm all for charity organizations but there are certain things that really could be better: 1) You have to call to cancel your contribution or lessen the amount. Their lines are only open 8am-5pm, M-F. Although I understand its their incentive to keep people donating, this is not good customer service and really is meant to make people uncomfortable. If you are like me and are uncomfortable talking to people on the phone, I would suggest a different charity with better online support. 2) There is no visibility as to where your money goes. If you were stopped by a street canvasser, you may get the "Sponsor a Child" pitch or the more recent "Feeding children in America" one. Even if you 'sponsor' a child, that money does not directly sponsor that specific kid. Instead, it goes towards their programs, whether its to that community or somewhere else. I chose to reinlist due to seeing food poverty in US & COVID, only to get several emails giving me the same shpeel of sponsoring a child in another country. It's clear that my money just went towards their general pool of donations. If you're looking to see your money go towards a specific cause or want to see direct impact, this is not the org for you. read more

Hello everyone, reading everyone's comments I just wanted to input my comment as well- as someone inside of this organization. To save people trouble I was recently taken into orientation for this organization. And this is an actual job. Those people who stop you on the streets are paid a minimum of $4,000 a month. PLUS commission. Commission is earned when that person signs someone up for donations and a better commission when signed up for monthly/ yearly donations. At orientation they taught us that we have to be persistent and insistent. They gave us this whole scrip that is meant to brain wash people to donate. First they inform you and consistently say "you agree no child has to go thru that right?" Then they hit you with a really really sad story to depress you, then tell you a solution and lastly they ask you for money saying "let's get you on board". These people just care about making money- if they really did it for just the children they wouldn't be getting paid a maximum of $7,000 a month. And there's employees all of the country. So when you sign up for this organization you're giving like 5% to the children and the other 95% you're just paying those people who are signing you up to donate. ALSO , I SUGGEST YOU LOOK THIS ORGANIZATION YP ON INDEED (job site) I do not work for this company , I just went to orientation. read more

Not please with save the children. I have tried for a year to cancel and get my money back and they are still charging me. I'm reporting them to the better business bureau. Do not recommend that anyone donates here as they will never be able to cancel. read more

So I had the same issue as everyone else, meant to do a 1 time donation and was charged for over a year, unable to cancel my subscription. What I did to get them to stop charging my card was threaten legal action-got 6 months refunded within 3 days of sending that email. They still owe me for 7 months, but w/e I'll probably never see it. I don't understand how an organization this big is able to do this BS. read more

I don't trust this so called "organization". Cancelling is practically impossible and credit card companies say agency is not eligible to be blocked from cancelling. I changed my card number and somehow they have the authority to continue charging your account even if they don't have the new card number. Their phone number tells you to call back during work hours EVEN if it is work hours that you are calling. Their email for support says they will get back to you in 2-3 days and it's been weeks of me disputing the continued charges on my card. RIDICULOUS!!! read more

They won't stop bombarding me with emails and calls despite the fact that I was donating for years. Even got a sales call from them and after I told them they send too many emails, they said "sorry about that, is there an email address you would like to add to receive communication?" No!!!! Finally jumped through all the hoops to cancel and will not be donating again read more

Things have gone a little down since the former president died, followed by their lifelong home building in Hartford, CT, being destroyed by a flood. Make no mistake about it, though, Save the Children is one of the two oldest & most proficient of such organizations, in it's service worldwide, w/ some 92% of your donations going to direct aid. I had hands-on experience, by watching them handle scared, hungry, and in some cases, abandoned children, through the lengthy recovery from "Superstorm Sandy," & have followed specifically their ongoing work in Haiti, where a few years ago, the earthquake killed ALL employees there, right in front of the kids, who were outside playing. Still recovering from that horrible hurricane (Hugo ?), the country was again destroyed the. With the U.S, & some 39 foreign companies, Save the Children has been a MAJOR saving grace to EXTREMELY needy children & impoverished families. (To save children, Save the Children really takes an entire community, and builds, or rebuilds it, 'til it has become energized & self-sufficient. Also works in concert with other such organizations, to make community & world plans). Tonight, 22,000 children will die from starvation & malnutrition, between the time you eat dinner, to breakfast. All-in-all, 38,000 children die A DAY of malnutrition & often-curable diseases. Please, send donations directly to the new headquarters on Kings Highway, in Fairfield, Ct. Every cent, along with the many corporate donations of food, clothing, & medicine, as well as social workers, doctors, & others will go a very, very long way, I assure you ! --UNPAID former volunteer, Allentown, PA, U. S. A. read more

The people promoting on the streets are extremely annoying. To be honest they seem like paid scam artist more than volunteers through the way they push, guilt trip and yell at pedestrians. I never understand why charities use this tactic because it really annoys the heck out of people. And because of this experience I will avoid this foundation. read more

Approached by one of their Austin representatives asking for a monthly donation to save children in need. I always prefer doing research before giving a donation and asked if it was possible to be sent an email or put on a mailing list so that I can be reminded when I get home. His response is that he can take my information if I give a donation, that there is no way to simply be added to a mailing list where I can receive updates and learn more about the program's involvement, accomplishments, etc. When I was told I could be added to mailing list by paying one monthly donation, then cancel - it started to sound more like a sales gimmick. He assured me that he wasn't paid commission (and did confirm he was an employee, not a volunteer), but after being really pushy in wanting me to sign up for recurring payments, I politely repeated that I would not be giving anything that day. There's no reason that somebody that passionate about something would NOT want others to simply be educated and aware of the STC program. Having to be pushed to pay at the first site of meeting an STC rep really does not bode well for the business and its practices. read more

Terrible. I was actually willing to help support this foundation as it does actually provide help to children in need however as soon as I signed up found my discrepancies in the way these vendors work. Often they will lie about the money you can donate, change your age, and harass you to sign people up, there is nothing you can do about it so stay away! read more

Literally, I am scared of these individuals approaching me on Market street. Look, if I'm walking AWAY from you, that means I am not interested whatsoever. But, I was fooled once and shook one of your hands. You told me about how I can help by donating some money via credit or check card. I asked whether you had a website, and if I can give you cash for a donation and you said NO. You insisted for me to take out my cards, and let you take down the number. Dude, I was not born yesterday. Furthermore, after I said I will not give my credit card information, you started to judge me on how I am not contributing to society. Let's just say this: at least I'm not trying to scam people. Take this into consideration: Have you ever heard of a charity that does not take CASH?!?!? Think about that. read more

Horrible service I would not consider this a charity I called to change my donation amount because I didn't have the fund for the $18 donation, and they didn't change it, and they proceeded to charge me the $18 donation. This is a complete and utter scam. read more

Understand that if you donate to this outfit, you will be hounded by them until you send a cease and desist letter. They also will sell your personal information to marketing lists. When they charged my card after I canceled, I disputed the charge, canceled the card and ordered a replacement. They attempted to charge the canceled card 40 times in the next 20 days until the bank sent them a cease order. In the ensuing 30 days, I got over 100 emails from them, until I sent a cease and desist order and reported him to the Attorney General of their state and the Better Business Bureau. There are many legitimate organizations that help children (Children International, St. Jude's, Big Brothers and Sisters of America, etc.). My recommendation is to avoid Save the Children at all costs, until if and when they find new management. read more

In our universe, there is no Amazonian warrior-princess to inspire the women of Africa and liberate them from rape, mutilation, and subjugation. In our universe, there is no caped, horned, nocturnal avenger to terrify, defeat, and capture brutal warlords or to defend those who have been harmed by greed, powerlust, and sociopathic violence. In our universe, we have no godlike orphan from an obliterated planet to overthrow genocidal armies or turn back cataclysms of nature. In our universe, we have no guardian of the Seven Seas to make deserts fertile and enrich the parched. In our universe, there are no men that are half-machine, no beings blessed with the ability to outrun sound, no wearers of mystical rings to save Africa and Her people from starvation, war, environmental defilement, and oppression. In our universe, there is no band of peak-human and supernatural champions to right the Earth's wrongs with their collective power. But there is... http://www.joinwecanbeheroes.org/justice-league/ Save The Children was founded in 1919 by sisters Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton to feed German, Hungarian, and Austrian children who were left hungry during World War I. For the past 93 years, they have been living up to their namesake in 120 conflict-ravaged nations throughout the world, focusing on disaster recovery, famine alleviation, education, medical care, and the overall empowerment of children. DC Entertainment began life in 1935 as National Allied Publications and have since grown to become one of 2 powerhouse publishers that currently dominate the comic book market. DC's vast library of fantastic characters and stories continue to entertain young readers as well as those who are well into adulthood. Their deep roster of creative talent has served to elevate the artform and innovate it many times over. Their grand, heroic mythos has transcended mediums to become an indelible part of Americana and has dented our culture as much as sports, cinema, video games, literature, hip-hop, and rock music have. To help rescue the 13 million people caught in the current Horn of Africa crisis, DC has officially partnered with Save The Children and 2 other humanitarian organizations: International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps. If you choose to make a donation to the 3 aforementioned charities through the link provided above (your money will be distributed equally among them), DC Entertainment has pledged to answer your gift by 100%. Let's make this the greatest "crossover" in comics history. Give today. read more

One of these little teen scam artists tried to get me a few years ago. I always wondered if they actually take classes in 'how to flirt with desperate men/women' or if they just naturally attempt to work people they meet... like a Vegas bartender... or a whore. I can't wait to see a story about this blatant abuse of charity status on the cover of the SF Weekly or something. The best part for me is the knowledge that of all the people they scam it's the fresh faced little suburban mallrats that really get scammed in the end. Hey, dipweed! If you could really make a living just asking people for money don't you think we'd all be doing it? Sometimes I like to just spend like 15-20 min just really getting into the whole presentation and then "oh! I gotta go to the Sun Yung Moon presentation. They have great appetizers!" read more

Similar experience as others. There was a group of young men with Save the Children shirts outside of Whole Foods yesterday afternoon. I politely said "not today" when approached by one as I entered the store. A few moments later I walked out of the store and the same guy asked again. Again I smiled and said no, not today, to which this guy responded loudly, "OH SO ALL THAT TIME IN THERE AND YOU CAN't EVEN THINK ABOUT CHILDREN?!" (Not that it matters, but my JOB is providing services to underserved kids, but of course he'd no way of knowing that) First, I can't stand these organizations that hang around outside of markets, but to be insulted by them for not handing any money over is too much. I would never give a penny to this group and will complain both to the organization AND Whole Foods. read more

Unbelievable. I got guilt tripped into a monthly pay even when I told one of the street assistants I don't feel comfortable paying with my card. Then I asked him if this was a one time thing. He kept telling me I could change donations. I don't wanna pay monthly. I want to cancel this. Then on the phone I was told I must wait 24-48 hours. Despicable. Never letting them talk me into monthly donations again. read more

TERRIBLE street marketing. They will physically stop you and then harass you when you walk away. Their behavior is unprofessional and truly appalling for a charitable organization. I complained to the organization directly and they told me they would be looking into it. This was a generic response as I did not provide enough information for any relevant investigation to be completed. This was in Nashville, TN. Clearly, the behavior I encountered is tolerated, if not downright encouraged, as there are multiple posts from around the country. What a terrible organization. read more

I recently donated to Save the Children through a survey site (My Points). The offer was that I would be reimbursed 7,000 points by My Points if I made a donation of $18.00 or more. I made three donations and My Points and Save the Children refused to credit me for the 7,000 points. As a retired fraud investigator I would be very careful in donating to Save the Children through any survey site (especially through the My Points website). I am embarrassed to say I was duped by both of these organizations. When I contacted My Points they placed the blame on Save the Children for not informing them of the donation. Please beware people! read more

I've been fortunate enough never to have been hounded by them in person. But I have to wonder about the financial structure of an organization which has enough money for numerous television ads while children around the world are starving. Something is really off here. If they're supposedly concerned re all those starving children they need to ensure all of that money goes 100 percent to the kids directly. And not lavish studios. read more

Stay away from this charity. Forced me to sign up and I just did it to get rid of them, because it was annoying. Now they refused to give me a refund, but I will make sure I get all my money back because I'm not interested in this non profit and people they hire. Very aggressive. I will monitor my bank account to make sure they issues my refund and didn't charge me for the next month. I will also make sure to report this shady "business" on all review sites including BBB. Avoid them at any cost. They also keep spamming me, but ignore my emails. read more

Save up for BIRTH CONTROL if you really want to save the world's children - and the environment. They say "children are our future" but there are just too many people (75 million more each year) and too much denial of overpopulation as a root cause. Everything's always about growing more food or "distributing" it better. You'd think by now they'd figure out there are more obvious reasons. Nobody gives deer handouts when they starve. This review was prompted because I've had several incidents of aggressively-extended hands while walking on city streets. If their canvassers have to pitch something like that, it makes me wary. read more

One of their reps stopped us and was overly aggressive in persuading us to give money to the charity. We told him that part of our paycheck goes to the foundation already, and he was trying to still make us feel guilty for not giving money to him then and there. Who ever is training these reps isn't doing a good job by giving people the guilt trip. The more he was talking, the more I was thinking it was some sort of scam. read more

Alright, I've got a few things to set straight. Because there is a ton of misinformation here on this yelp page, I would hate it if someone read this and didn't get involved with Save The Children. Number one: Take a look at BBB Wise Giving Alliance or Charity Navigator. STC is a top notch rated charity. It's easy to hear a sensational story about an evil organization ripping off the kind-hearted people who donate to their cause, only to screw everyone over. STC is not that charity! They've been around a long time, and have done great work in conjunction with other wonderful organizations like Doctors Without Borders. STC does not teach religious or even controversial subject matter when working with children, allowing for culture and accessibility to areas like the middle east or middle america (i.e. they do not directly distribute birth control or give abortion counciling to young women) I completely understand if you are frustrated by overzealous canvassers for STC. I myself work in this field, and as a supervisor, I never, ever condone rudeness to the public. It's true these individuals have a base quota they must make, and it is true they get paid, but it's through a second party organization who enters into a contract with STC to engage a certain amount of donors and to create greater awareness of the organization. They set target goals for how many people are to be talked to and so forth. This money is given up front before a single kid sets foot in front of your local Trader Joe's. Every single penny raised goes to the cause. Standing in a public space and trying to talk to people about STC or anything else is an expression of freedom of speech and it is my belief and policy that if you aren't interested in talking for absolutely whatever reason, then there can be a mutal respect and everyone continues with their day. These kids do have a quota, and it's absolutely nessesary to maintaining contract with the client and doing them service by doubling and sometimes tripling their initial investment. So please do your research on your charitable giving, talk to your friendly neighborhood canvasser if you're so inclined and help your fellow man. read more

Beware! Employees are trained to be aggressive salespeople not caring about the cause "save the children" just to care about how to get your credit card on file so you can support monthly and be part of their Bonus. Scam Organization, Shame on them! read more

I was recently approached...no, harassed, by these guys outside of Whole Foods in LA. Wow, this guy was bad- he so aggressively tried to get me to "sign up for my $20 a month" that red flags went off like crazy. I googled the charity on the spot and it didn't take long to realize this is not a legitimate charity. This "organization" should be ashamed of themselves. read more

The street marketer I encountered was able to give me a very thorough explanation of what the organization does, but I agree with most of the reviews in saying that the aggressive marketing is a massive downfall. I spent almost 10 minutes with her, most of which was her asking overly personal details about my life, only to use that information later on as a marketing tactic/guilt trip. At one point, I told her I would have to discuss a recurring sponsorship expense with my wife because we share a bank account; she then said that surely my wife "wouldn't mind" if I just signed up without talking it over with her. I said no thank you about 5 times during the interaction and the whole thing was very uncomfortable. I may have been more willing to support the organization had the interaction been remotely pleasant, but hyper-aggressive, guilt-inducing marketing always turns me off. read more

I got a call from an aggressive telemarketer representing this organization. I don't even know how he got my phone # but added that he was grateful for my having helped the group with past donations (this is a very common ploy used by these outfits who even lie about this since I find no record in my checkbook of having send any $$$ to them). The guy, seeing how resistant I was (as I always am the minute I encounter them when answering the phone), then asked what was the absolute minimum I could send. I said $20 and to send me a notice in the mail. I refused to give him my email address and said I was going to research them on the Net (as I have done by reading the other reviews here) and so the minute the envelope arrives from them, it's going straight to the trash! read more

I didn't want to donate. The sale people that approach you for donations on the street harass you. They say you have to give $20 a month. I sent two emails that I need to cancel with no reply. In fact while I was signing up i asked the girl how you cancel and she had no answer for me. ..what does that tell you???!!!! This organization is a sma. I much prefer to save animals and i don't want to give my money to this organization. Stop harassing people !!!! read more

These are scams, do not donate, Save the Children is just a scam to get money to help poor uneducated children, and to brainwash them with Christian Rhetoric under the guise of "Sending them to school". Yes, some good does come of it, but if less than 90% of a charity's collections does not go to the charity, it is a scam and someone has a mansion somewhere while the people they collect money on behalf of still starve and suffer. read more

Absolutely don't donate to this organization. I made a mistake of doing it a year ago and up until today they kept calling me to ask me for more donations. The callers are very rude and pushy if you tell them that you don't want to donate that day. Also I check at the bbb.org charity review: http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/relief-and-development/save-the-children-federation-in-westport-ct-893 It said that the total income of the charity is about 455k per year while CEO compensation is about 413k per year. So how much of the money actually goes to the children exactly? read more

They do not acknowledge your request to be removed from mailings. I have been asking for my grandmother for 4 months now and yet the requests have not stopped. I now consider that HARRASMENT. read more

Save the Children is a legitimate worldwide charitable organization. They consistently get high marks from charity rating services, including the Better Business Bureau. The BBB website shows in 2009 they had a $455 million income. They spent 5% on Administration, 6% on fundraising, and 89% on programs. That's a fantastic ratio for an organization that raises that much money. read more

I was approached by a representative of Save the Children while in Austin, TX, for a donation. I made the donation and thought it was a one-time contribution. Neither I nor my wife remember getting any type of receipt. My credit card statement was to serve as proof of the donation. We give to a number of causes frequently and, as a result, I did not realize that they were deducting that donation every month for the past 6 months. I have now disputed the charge on my credit card but it is clear that their fund-raising is dishonest. If, in fact, they do good work, their fund-raising practices overshadow that good. I would not donate again. There are other charities that go good work without compromising their integrity. read more