The idea for Pray for the Children originated with a Chicago Police Commander in February of 1997. The Commander had a vision that people would converge on the streets in prayer, fellowship and unity to save the children. In May, just 90 days later, over 10,000 people stood on street corners on the west side of Chicago and prayed.
Building upon the Police Commander's idea, a group from across the country came together in February of 1998 to create a Pray for the Children Committee and a Pray for the Children Weekend.
In 1998, a simple effort seeking spiritual guidance and intervention to save our children from the scourge of drugs and violence was born: Pray for the Children Weekend. The goal was to generate as many prayers as possible for children around the world.
Originally, the Pray for the Children Committee was a part of a volunteer, statewide drug prevention group, the Illinois Drug Education Alliance, IDEA. Today, Pray for the Children Committee is a part of Educating Voices, Inc., a national, volunteer drug-prevention organization and is continuing to be administered by the individuals who founded it.
Information about drugs and their effects is available at the Educating Voices website, www.educatingvoices.org