Our Story
Find out more about Plan USA through The Story of Plan, an historical narrative of our work with children and families around the world.
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Our historical timeline
Plan was founded in 1937 by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge. Originally named 'Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain', the aim was to provide food, accommodation and education to children whose lives had been disrupted by the Spanish Civil War.
During the Second World War, we expanded to work with displaced children throughout war-torn Europe.
In the 1950s, as Europe recovered, it became increasingly evident that children in countries further afield were also in need of critical help. We gradually began working with deprived children throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our organization was renamed Plan International to reflect our aim of bringing lasting improvement to the lives of children in need wherever they live, whatever their circumstances.
Today, Plan works in 48 developing countries and is one of the world's largest development organizations. Child sponsorship is the foundation of our organization. We have about one million sponsors in 17 donor countries helping over one million children all over the world, together with their families and communities.
