CCC’s 2014 Celebration Breakfast brought more than 600 supporters together to honor individuals and organizations who are making a difference in the lives of children in New York City, across the country and around the globe.

Our honorees, Lois Whitman of Human Rights Watch, Mark Wolfe and LeVar Burton of RRKidz/Reading Rainbow, and representatives from the 150 member organizations of the Campaign for Children, helped make the event an uplifting occasion to celebrate collective accomplishments and recommit ourselves to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and author, Nicholas Kristof, delivered an inspiring keynote which challenged everyone in attendance to join in the effort to bring about change for children.

“Drops in a bucket are how you fill a bucket,” he said. He went on to discuss how the biggest returns are when you invest in children, saying, “We need to invest in kids to build a better future.”

PHOTOS: View a photo gallery from the event.

Nicholas Kristof highlighted examples of volunteerism from his recent book, “A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity,” which he co-authored with his wife, Sheryl

WuDunn. A Path Appears showcases a variety of ways that people are contributing to the important work of charitable organizations throughout the world.

“Helping people is harder than it looks,” he shared, “but if you take a risk it ripples through people’s lives.”

CCC’s Executive Director Jennifer March said, “We must advance a vision of a city that helps each child succeed starting at birth, through adolescence and young adulthood.”

She reminded CCC supporters that the challenges facing our city’s children are not insurmountable, and she outlined the practical investments that must be made in order to continue to build on the progress that’s been made in New York City, including early education, after-school, school meals, health and mental health clinics, and child savings plans.

“It is our collective responsibility to make sure that all children have access to these basics supports and services,” Jennifer said, “because they are not only essential, but can be transformative.”

Juju Chang, the master of ceremonies, also reminded guests of the important role that everyone can play in making the city a better place for children, whether it be through attending rallies or press conferences, writing letters or making calls to government leaders, making financial contributions, or helping to raise awareness among friends, families or colleagues.

Everyone was encouraged to #BePartoftheSolution for New York City’s children and both honorees and guests responded to the call to action by sharing facts from our Keeping Track Online database on twitter and facebook.

If you were unable to attend or were a guest at the Breakfast, we hope you will consider supporting CCC’s research, data analysis and child advocacy by making a donation today.

CCC thanks our event co-chairs, Marilyn Lubell, Mahsa Pelosky, Nancy Solomon and Heidi Stamas, as well as Honorary Chair, Katherine Lobach, for helping to make the event a success!

Learn more about our honorees and speakers and stay tuned for highlights of their remarks.