I am very pleased to announce that today, as part of this conference, United Way will help lead a national coalition of service providers, The Coalition for America's Children, to advance five specific, concrete, measurable goals aimed at improving the healthy and safe development of our children.

These contributions will go a long way toward the larger goals that the federal government has set for itself in aiding communities... Finally, I want to turn to the fifth goal, the reduction of juvenile gun violence.  If Jonesboro and the mayhem we see across the nation make one clear point, it is that we must confront the issue of children's access to guns.  We cannot turn away from it.  We all know that gun control debates divide people in this nation, but I am sure that there is one universal agreement on one matter:  The unsupervised, unauthorized use of guns by children is a recipe for tragedy....  

AT&T is linked to the nation's premier anti-gun organization, Handgun Control, Inc., through a $3 million grant to fund a group called the Coalition For America's Children.

Ruth Wooden, president of the Advertising Council, explained to the New Gun Week bulletin that the campaign promotes the work and issues of the coalition and that its purpose is to "motivate and inspire" people to take direct political action at all levels to protect political action at all levels to protect children.

The private ownership of guns is the primary target.

The coalition was actually organized by the M.G. Benton Fund, founded and chaired by Margorie Benton, who is also a trustee of the Benton Foundation and a national committee member of Handgun Control, Inc.

The coalition is provided office space and staff by the Benton foundation in Washington. In addition, five of the coalition's seven-member executive committee also are members of Handgun control, Inc. or its ally, the Coalition to Stop Handgun Violence.

The coalition was undertaken to supposedly focus of four main issues: health, education, safety and security, which were further refined and the safety issue zeroed in on gun control and a pledge to educate the public about the dangers of firearms to children.

The coalition's efforts to educate are illustrated by some of its statements included in its promotional material, including:

"Reduce the availability of guns...Urge the president and congressional and state level leaders to take strong action to control the availability of guns...

"Handguns, deadly airguns and 'assault weapons' should be banned...also recommend regulation of handgun ammunition, reduction of privately-owned handguns and placing restrictions on handgun ownership..

"The best way to protect children against gun violence is to remove all guns from the home."

The groundwork for Connect For Kids was laid in 1991 through the work of the Coalition for America's Children, co-founded by The Benton Foundation. The Coalition's "Who's for Kids and Who's Just Kidding" campaigns worked to put kids at the forefront of the public agenda and to make political candidates accountable on kids' issues.... Connect for Kids is managed by the Forum for Youth Investment.

The Forum for Youth Investment is a nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank” dedicated to helping communities and the nation make sure all young people are Ready by 21. We are dedicated to complete transparency in all that we do, say and believe. Now and again, questions and concerns get raised about our acceptance of funding from Philip Morris USA, an Altria Company (PM USA) for our Ready by 21 Partnership efforts. Below are our responses to some of those questions and concerns that have been raised.

What is Ready by 21?

Ready by 21 challenges state and community leaders to think and act differently about preparing all youth for college, work and life. In February 2007, the Forum launched Ready by 21 and forged a partnership with a handful of respected national organizations. The Ready by 21 framework predates our relationship with PM USA and has in no way been unduly influenced by our relationship with them or any other funder. Our funders have funded us consistently because they believe, as we do, in the power of leaders working together intentionally in communities to ensure better outcomes for children and youth.

Who are the members of the Partnership?

The core Ready by 21 National Partners – the United Way of America, American Association of School Administrators, America’s Promise Alliance, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the National Collaboration for Youth, and the National Conference of State Legislatures – represent national, state and local nonprofit, business, government and education leaders. Together we are committed to providing leaders with information, resources and coaching tools to work together effectively and efficiently to improve the odds for youth.