Betsy Zorio has spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector. Before Save the Children, she spent five years with the Special Olympics.
“I've always been passionate about social justice and the notion that each one of us is born with gifts to share, no matter our ability level or our zip code,” Zorio said. “And I believe every child has the right to reach their full potential, and that's what led me to Save the Children.”
The organization’s budget runs about $150 million using public and private partnerships, along with a mix of federal and state funding as well as corporate and individual donations.
The funding helps pay for Head Start programs in about seven states. While the organization works worldwide in 110 countries, Zorio works to build programs nationally.
She said Save the Children believes education is the ladder out of poverty for children.
“We go where the need is greatest and where we have the most opportunity for impact. And so that tends to be countries where there's less stability, there's less infrastructure, there's less funding," Zorio said. "And in the United States, we got our start here about 90 years ago during the Great Depression, helping children in Harlan County, Kentucky. We provided school lunches and clothing during the Great Depression, and we basically haven't left since.”
While the federal government has a dozen definitions of what rural is – Zorio said they partnered with Columbia University to assess which of those was most inclusive.
Surprisingly, she said this can include pockets of very rural impoverished areas in very urban areas, such as Los Angeles County, California.
While the organization does not have a presence in Utah yet, she said there are ambitions to expand here.
“Utah has many pockets of rural poverty, but fortunately, a lot of the areas in this state actually have some of the lower child poverty rates compared to the nation as a whole,” Zorio said. “So, the rural poverty rate in Utah is about 13.8% overall, which is relatively low compared to states like Mississippi, where it's almost 33% or South Carolina where it’s 32%. We do aim to expand into Utah in the coming months and years, with an initial focus on expanding our presence on the Navajo Nation.”
Zorio adds that they have been busy responding to the disaster areas in communities that have entirely been cut off in North Carolina and Tennessee after Hurricane Helene.
