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Celebrity Baby Blog
Nov 19 2009 02:00 PM ET
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Caught Caring: Victoria Beckham and Save the Children USA

Celebrity Baby Blog – Caught Caring

Although she made her name as Posh Spice in the Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham was in anything but posh surroundings earlier this month during a two-day trip to Clay County, Kentucky. Visiting on behalf of Save the Children USA and accompanied by her 10 ½-year-old son Brooklyn Joseph, Victoria was on hand to gain a better understanding of childhood poverty in the United States.

By her own account, the trip was both eye-opening and inspirational. The 35-year-old fashion designer and songstress explains that what she saw in Clay County — among the poorest counties in America, with a median household income of $19,728 and a childhood poverty rate of 47.8 percent — only served to reinforce for her “the hope and promise inherent in every child.” She adds,

“That’s why we have to make sure every single child has a fair and equal start in life. Seeing Save the Children’s innovative programs in action, I know that we can begin to reverse the childhood poverty crisis. I’m pleased Brooklyn is learning that, by helping and joining other children, he can play a role in making his generation the greatest yet.”

While in Kentucky, Victoria and Brooklyn visited homes where they shared information on literacy and nutrition with parents. At two elementary schools, mother and son took part in a book bag exchange, handing out tote bags filled with books, as well as a soccer lesson where they distributed shoes and backpacks donated by Adidas. Later, they read to a group of toddlers and even met with teachers and principals to learn more about the unique challenges being faced by poverty-prone school districts.

Courtesy Save the Children

A member of the International Save the Children Alliance, Save the Children USA serves 50,000 children with programs designed to teach healthy lifestyles while simultaneously boosting academic performance. As the organization notes, poverty all too often brings with it a litany of other problems, including poor cognitive and emotional development, illiteracy and obesity. Save the Children’s comprehensive approach works to ensure the overall physical and emotional well-being of those children who are most at-risk within the United States.

For information on how you can contribute, click here.

In addition to Brooklyn, Victoria is mom to Romeo James, 7, and Cruz David, 4 ½, with husband David Beckham.

– Missy

See two more photos below!

Courtesy Save the Children

Courtesy Save the Children

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Comments (25) + Add a comment

I was never a fan of Posh the singer, but I love Posh the wife/mother/businesswoman/humanitarian. I love when celebs bring their children along with them to show them how working class America lives.

- OnyxJones on

Posh smiling??? Is it a full moon?

- Lis on

that’s the first I’ve seen her smile! It’s good to see her having a good time….and showing it!

- Sparks4Life on

its been a while since i’ve seen her in jeans.she looks much more approachable dressed that way =) hope they all had fun.

- ang on

very nice
Benigna Torviso-Marko

- Benigna Marko on

she has quite an amazing smile.
brooklyn is getting so handsome.

- skipsie on

Awesome! Love her.

- Julie on

I think it was great she did this (and I LOVE that she took Brooklyn), but do you think those kids even knew who she was?

- Lilybett on

Great pictures and a great cause! I really, really like the Beckham family… Who cares if Victoria isn’t photographed smiling all the time or that she is almost always dressed to the nines? She seems like she really cares about making a difference and teaching her sons how lucky they are and how to give back. And obviously I can’t say for sure as I don’t know them, but all 3 boys seem to be really happy, so it’s always a pleasure seeing pictures of them.

- alice jane on

What a beautiful smile she has! Who knew? And I agree with everyone else – it’s nice when celebs can show their children the value of volunteerism. It will go a long way in the life of a child.

- Chicki on

wow, so she is human after all! I love the smiling!

- Sarah on

I think it’s great that Victoria came to Kentucky and visited Clay County and the kids… at the same time, it makes me a bit ill. Kentucky is not, by any means, a poor state and yet we have some of the poorest counties in the nation. I live in Lexington and we are by no means a “poor” city… or even close to the poverty line for that matter. Same goes for many other Kentucky cities.

I think it’s sad that it should take stars coming to Kentucky to get the word to these kids when frankly we should be doing it ourselves.

Sadly though, I fear the cycle will continue regardless of what any of us do. I have a friend who worked in the high school in the poorest county in Kentucky (2nd in the nation) and the simple fact of the matter seemed to be that people living there simply didn’t care about breaking the cycle. The adults didn’t care and often didn’t want their children getting an education beyond high school (or even high school) because they didn’t want them going on to college and moving away from the work they felt they should be doing on their farms. When my friend brought college brochures to share with the students in her classes, many parents even got upset.

It’s sad, but it’s true.

- Rachel on

I love seeing pictures of her smiling and wearing jeans…its so normal!

Go to youtube and watch “Victoria Beckham Coming to America” if you want to see her smile a lot, and believe it or not she seems to have a great personality.

- Abbey on

OMG SHE SMILED!!!!!!! Why isn’t that on breaking news? And what do you know, she does have a nice smile.

- Dani on

This is wonderful. Children must have support every way they can, and the fact that a non-American is standing up for American children in poverty speaks volumes.

- sat on

Victoria is awesome…

Its funny to me when everyone says she doesnt smile and its weird to see her smile… She has the BEST sense of humour, an absolute crackup…

I was a major fan and i used to watch and watch and watch my dvds of the spice girls and their interviews and she was always a delight, the most entertaining and funniest by far..But i do understand why people would think that just by the paparazzi shots of her,… i wouldnt be smiling either if people were in my face :S

I think she is an awesome mum and this is so great to see!

- Nicole on

First, I really admire her for this humane action. It’s nice to see that a celebrity is taking interest in poverty in the United States and focusing on children in America who are affected by poverty! My sister works in a very poor area in Tampa. The children come to school with no shoes. These kids are starving. I’m happy to see a celebrity notice that the US has the same problems like other countries!

- g!na on

Sat – I agree! It seems like a lot of famous people don’t want to admit or focus on the poverty that goes on in The United States because of the wealth that is there! but there are so many people in the poverty level and i’m glad VB took notice. I hope more celebs will take notice in the poverty stricken areas in America.

- g!na on

The thing I was most surprised about when I came to USA on vacation was the poster for “Feed America” or something similar. I don’t remember the statistics they were quoting about hungry people in the US but they were shocking.

- Anna on

Abbey, Victoria was probably one of the funniest celebrities I’ve ever seen in ‘Coming to America’! You’re right, anyone who is surprised to see her smile needs to watch that. She’s constantly poking fun at herself and the public’s perceptions of her.

- alice jane on

She seems to be very much at ease and enjoying herself with the children and therefore we see a genuine grin on her face. Notice she didn’t show up dressed to the nines for this. There is a time and a place for being dressed up in her high fashion stuff and putting on a serious face and it’s clear Victoria knows when to pull the Posh and when to just be a mom hanging around with kids. I think this is a lovely picture and a great article.

- Virginia on

I love the first picture with Victoria and all the kids!! I’ve seen other videos with her too and she smiles/laughes alot in them.

- Molly on

I think it was great that she came to Clay Co. I am from that town, I got out of there, but many don’t, but I would like to add although they are one of the poorest counties in the nation, and there aren’t really any jobs to speak of around there, alot of people turn to drugs and these children just don’t think there is any other way of life, so for someone like POSH to come visit is great.

- melanie on

This is the first photo I have ever seen of her smiling. She looks casual and relaxed and actually looks as if she is enjoying herself. Nice to see!

- Holly on

i love vickie b i have been a fan since the spice girls. she is one of the most looked down upon celebrity but she appears to be a natural in her own sense. so what if she doesnt smile the paparazzi are irritating i have being in a room with about ten flashing cameras and almost went blind. she inspires me am just ashamed that the media publish her wrongs more than her rights. though these kids happy they must have een touched to see a person of such huge reputation. and for brooklyn his my favorite becham boy because he seems to be a cool kid.

- ettah on

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