Because of the hard work of people like you, Cover the Uninsured Week 2007 was a great success with more than 3,300 events across the country promoting the importance of coverage for children and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

But, there's still much to do and we all can help. Congress has yet to reauthorize SCHIP, and we must continue to keep this issue high on the national agenda.

According to the CoverTheUninsured Web site, more than 8 million of our children are living without health insurance today — more than the total number of kids enrolled in the first and second grades in U.S. public schools. Most of these children come from hard-working families that cannot afford or are not offered coverage.

But there is good news. Public programs like the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid provide coverage to millions of children so they can see doctors when they are sick, get routine checkups, hearing and vision screenings, prescription medicines, and hospitalizations. These programs keep millions of our nation's children healthy — better prepared to learn in school and succeed in life.

Cover the Uninsured Week now offers materials for faith communities as they work on the issue of covering the uninsured all year long. Download these materials now and continue to tell Congress that health care coverage must be their top priority.

Action steps
Included in the material are suggested action steps, including:

• Organizing a  Bible study or group discussion

• Offering prayers for the uninsured

• Preaching a sermon or other address on the moral imperative to respond to the plight of the uninsured

• Studying the faith basis for responding to the uninsured

• Signing the Call to Care (go to www.CoverTheUninsured.org/faith for a copy) and distributing it at events such as prayer breakfasts

• Engaging the religious and secular media to inform your community about the problem and ways to help

• Reaching out to help those without health insurance within your own community

• Promoting coverage to families that may be uninsured in your own congregation

• Distributing materials at health and enrollment events

• Volunteering at a health and enrollment fair

• Informing parents that they can find out if their uninsured children are eligible for low-cost or free health care coverage by calling toll free (877) KIDS-NOW.

• Downloading and making copies of your state's Guide to Finding Health Insurance Coverage to handout to individuals who do not have health coverage. These state-guides can be found at www.CoverTheUninsured.org/stateguides.

About Cover the Uninsured Week
Cover the Uninsured Week brings together individuals and organizations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in an annual campaign to demand that our nation's leaders find a solution for the more than 46 million Americans living without health insurance. What started as a week-long effort in 2003 to raise awareness has become a nationwide movement to make this issue a top national priority.

Let's get America covered!
This will take more than a one-week effort. Go to www.CoverTheUninsured.org for more information and to keep the movement going and get involved today!