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Unique 'Children's Inaugural Ball' Event to Celebrate the New President

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECMEF) "Children's Inaugural Ball" will take place from noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, January 18, 2009 at the Historical Society ofWashington, 801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square,Washington, D.C.

The child-focused event is the only family-friendly, free national event of its kind to welcome President-Elect Obama and his family to the White House. Children and families attending the Ball will experience live music and entertainment, games, interactive exhibits, play areas, story-time and puppet stage, children's mini-classes, and recorded history activities, including banners and displays of how earlier presidents helped improve the well-being of children and families over the last century.

Special Children's Inaugural Ball exhibitors include: Friends of the National Zoo, The National Aquarium, Mount Vernon, Ford's Theatre, The National Children's Museum, National Geographic Kids, The National Air and Space Museum, StoryCorps and more.

While a celebratory event, the Children's Inaugural Ball builds upon the work of many children's organizations over the past two years to raise the visibility of children's issues and to pave the way for new national investments in their well-being.

NATIONAL PARTNERS

National partners of the Every Child Matters Education Fund for the Children's Inaugural Ball include: American Academy of Pediatrics, Association for Library Services to Children, Afterschool Alliance, Center for Law and Social Policy, Center for Youth Development, Child Welfare League of America, Common Sense Media, Children's Dental Health Program, Children's Health Fund, The Children's Partnership, Coalition of Human Needs, Docs for Tots, Early Care and Education Consortium, Families USA, The Forum for Youth Investments, Alliance for Children and Families, First Book, First Star, Generations United, Moms Rising, National Alliance of Children's Trust & Prevention Funds, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, National Association of Social Workers, National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, National Collaboration for Youth, National Head Start Association, National Women's Law Center, Pre-K Now, Prevent Child Abuse America, Reach Out and Read, United Neighborhood Centers of America, Voices for America's Children, YMCA of theUSA, and Zero to Three.

ABOUT ECMEF

The Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECMEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on making the needs of children and youth a national political priority and promoting the adoption of smart policies for children, youth, and families -- including stopping child abuse, helping working families with child care, expanding pre-school education and after-school programs, and ensuring that children receive good health care. For more information about Every Child Matters, visit www.everychildmatters.org.

Available online at http://www.everychildmatters.org/HI3, the new third edition of "Homeland Insecurity: Why New Investments in Children and Youth Must be a Priority for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress" (January 2009) by Michael Petit, president of the Every Child Matters Education Fund, shows why it is important for the nation to make new investments in children. The report includes the framework for a proposed 10-Year, $500 Billion Invest-In-Kids Agenda.

SOURCE Every Child Matters Education Fund,Washington, D.C.