We are all affected by the recession. Sadly, our children may be hit the hardest. Katie Couric is tackling this issue with a week long special, Children of the Recession, that airs on CBS this week. In her blog, Katie wrote, “Since this recession began sixteen months ago, one million children have lost their health insurance as their parents lose their jobs. With nearly two million more home foreclosures expected, the number of homeless children will continue to rise.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Education setbacks are likely to occur with parents unable to pay for college and public schools losing funding for certain programs. Also, 3.5 million children under the age of 5 are already at risk of hunger in the United States. With the recession, these statistics are going to grow. While there is no easy solution, there are several organizations dedicated to helping our children through these difficult times. CBS News highlights organizations such as:

1. Children’s Health Fund helps to provide health care to children in need.
2. Safe Families for Children takes at risk children into their homes in order for parents to work through their short or long term crisis like hospitalization or drug abuse.
3. Feeding America is a fantastic organization that offers several programs to help combat the issue of hunger in America. The Fill A Summer Lunchbox Program is a great way to ensure that a child has nutritious and delicious lunches all summer long. TakePart also urges you to sign the petition to reauthorize The Child Nutrition Act. Your pledge will help assure that kids have healthy food choices in schools. We’ll even hand deliver your pledge to Congress this June!

Photo c/o Brian Auer’s flickr photostream (creative commons)