Yesterday, Jennifer Garner went to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Senate Health, Education and Labor committee on behalf of Save the Children’s work in West Virginia, Garner’s home state. Her testimony was all about early childhood development, poverty and finding a way to help out struggling families. Here’s part of her testimony:

Of all the roles actress Jennifer Garner has stepped in to, at the end of the day, her favorite is the one she plays in real life: mom. And as a parent, she says she’s outraged by the inequity that exists in educational opportunities for kids less fortunate than her own two daughters.

On Thursday, Garner made her second appearance in six months on the Hill to relay her concern, as an artistic ambassador for Save the Children.

“For me, reading to my daughters, singing with them, playing with them is as elemental to my child-rearing as feeding them,” Garner said in her testimony before the Senate’s Subcommittee on Children and Families. “But if you’re one of the millions of American parents struggling with the recession and poverty crisis, you’re thinking about just keeping them fed and clothed.”

Garner, whose mother is a retired English teacher, works with the nonprofit to provide disadvantaged families with basic learning tools like books and games to encourage early childhood development. Save the Children also implements programs at elementary schools.

“Ninety percent of our brain growth occurs between birth to 5 years of age, so every word a toddler hears, the music that makes them sing and dance, the games they play, build the foundations for their education,” she said.

On Friday, Garner will travel to her home state of West Virginia to open six Save the Children sites. The actress began serving as the artistic ambassador for the nonprofit’s U.S. programs in 2009 and has since made four D.C. appearances on its behalf.

[From Politico]

Great, wonderful cause, and I applaud Jennifer for her work. For more information about Save the Children, go here.

Now, I have a sidenote, and it’s something that CB and I just spent the last half hour arguing about. I think Jennifer is underdressed and understyled for this Congressional appearance, and I think it’s very unprofessional, especially for a Southern girl who should know (it’s in our DNA!) how to dress appropriately for every occasion. Now, whenever we show Dimple Parade photos of Jennifer Garner out and about with her kids, many commenters note that Garner tends to really look like a harassed working mom, often wearing just jeans and ill-fitting clothes, and little to no makeup, and unkempt hair. Some people always defend her, saying it’s impossible to look movie-star camera-ready at all times, and she’s just out with her kids, why would she need to dress up, etc. I think it’s fine to wander around, doing errands with no makeup, in sweats. That’s how I pretty much live, and I don’t judge Garner for it. HOWEVER – I think that when she goes to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Senate Health, Education and Labor committee, she should try to jazz it up a little, you know? Be and look professional. It looks to me like she just took her hair out of a ponytail, slapped on some lip gloss and wandered into a Congressional building in a tank top. I also think styling herself professionally would help her cause – more people would take her seriously if she were, say, wearing a suit. Just my opinion.

Photos courtesy of WENN.