Childhelp
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non-profit organization | |
Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona, US |
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Website | childhelp |
Childhelp is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of
The organization offers a wide variety of services, not only to abused and neglected children, but to treatment professionals,
According to a 2007 report by the
Founders
Sara O'Meara (then Sara Buckner) and
While on a government-sponsored goodwill tour to support the troops in Tokyo the pair founded Childhelp in 1959 when they opened International Orphans to support 11 Japanese-American children found wandering the streets, unable to get into any orphanages because of their mixed heritage. Within three weeks the number of children increased to 100.
Over the years Childhelp became one of the largest child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit organizations and operate today as Chairman and
Sara O'Meara
As Childhelp Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Sara O'Meara is actively involved in the development and oversight of the organization. Sara serves as the organization's key spokesperson and is primarily responsible for fund development and overall oversight of the organization's business. She has served on the boards of international organizations concerned with
Sara has received more than 100 awards for her service to children, including the Arizona Foundation for Women's
Sara O'Meara was born Sara Buckner in
Yvonne Fedderson
As a Childhelp Co-Founder and President, Yvonne Fedderson is actively involved in the development and oversight of the organization. Yvonne's focus is upon developing and supporting the organization's more than 25 chapters and auxiliaries. More than 2,500 volunteers nationwide organize fund-raising events in their communities, which raise more than $2 million annually.
Since 1994, Yvonne has also served as president and CEO of her late husband's company, Don Fedderson Productions. Her responsibilities include managing the rights of the television programs he produced, including Family Affair, My Three Sons, and The Betty White Show. She has served on the company's board of directors for more than 30 years. Yvonne, a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse, under the name of Yvonne Lime, has had an extensive acting career in film, television and stage.
Yvonne has been active in a number of
Yvonne has received more than 100 honors and awards for her service to children, some of which include the National Children's Alliance's Champions of Children Award, the State of California Legislature's Woman of the World Award, and the Women's International Center's Living Legacy Award. Most recently, Sara and Yvonne were awarded the 2008 Most Dynamic Woman of the Year award from
Yvonne Fedderson was born in Glendale, California and now makes her home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Her daughter Dionne Fedderson also lives in Paradise Valley.
Book and Lifetime movie
In 2003 Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson published the book Silence Broken: Moving From a Loss of Innocence to a World of Healing and Love.
In 2005, the book was developed into a
History
Childhelp has enjoyed a rich history that has spanned internationally over 50 years and impacted the lives of
Japanese Orphanages
In 1959 Sara and Yvonne traveled to Tokyo, Japan on a goodwill tour for the American troops stationed there after a large typhoon hit the region. While on the streets they encountered a group of children cold and frightened, huddled together. After learning the children had no parents and were born from American troops during the Korean War, the two actresses took the children to their hotel room for the night and sought out an orphanage the next day.[11]
The following day they learned the children were turned away from all the orphanages because of their mixed heritage. They were told of a woman, Kin Horuchi, living in a one-room hut that kept several Japanese-American children.
Kin agreed to care for the 11 additional children and the ladies promised to send money to help the children. They thought the problem was settled, but word of what they were doing spread rapidly through the city. They had suddenly become
Returning to California, the actresses began to raise funds among friends and their families, as well as the film community to care for the children. From that beginning grew International Orphans Incorporated, an organization that eventually built four orphanages, caring for thousands of abandoned Japanese-American children. [12][13]
Operation Babylift
In April 1975, American troops and Vietnamese refugees evacuated
Sara and Yvonne helped arrange Operation Babylift in America and saw thousands of children to adoption agencies.[14] At the time Childhelp was named International Orphans.
Services
Childhelp offers a variety of services to the children that enter its facilities, professionals in therapy and the community. Over the years the organization has broadened its facilities, incorporated previously established programs and helped bring them to a national audience and educated the public.
National Hotline
In 1982, Childhelp started the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). The hotline, staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by professional crisis counselors has received over two million calls since its inception. The hotline receives calls from children at risk for abuse, parents or guardians looking for crisis intervention and concerned individuals who may suspect abuse is occurring in their neighborhood. The hotline also provides information and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service and support resources under complete confidentiality and anonymity.
The hotline receives absolutely no government funding and is supported by the generous donations of the community, organizations and foundations.
Advocacy Centers
Childhelp operates three advocacy centers in the U.S. that minimize the trauma to an abused child through condensing the investigative process by housing professionals in law enforcement, child protective services, medicine, mental health and prosecution all under one roof. The child friendly facilities provide an environment far more comfortable than an emergency room or police station for the children.
Treatment
Childhelp offers treatment to victims of child abuse through several different methods.
The first is at two residential treatment centers known as Villages. Both villages, located in rural communities in California and
Childhelp also operates community-based group homes in both California and Virginia. Children often will transition from one of the residential treatment villages to the smaller
Lastly, Childhelp provides long and short-term foster care in California and Tennessee. The organization is licensed to recruit, screen, train and certify foster care parents, and provides ongoing support to both foster parents and the children in their care.
Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe for Educators
Formerly known for 3 decades as Childhelp Good Touch, Bad Touch, this research-based, comprehensive child abuse and bullying prevention education curriculum equips students nationwide with skills they need to play a significant role in the prevention or interruption of abuse and bullying. Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe is delivered through an online virtual campus and covers topics such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, bullying and cyberbullying, all at an age appropriate level. Through the use of integrated student materials, safety rules continue to be reinforced after the initial instruction in the classroom.
Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe for Athletes
Underwritten by Olympic Consultants, the Foundation for Global Sports Development, this innovative program is a direct response to abuse in youth athletics. Designed as a positive and fun way to embed lifesaving concepts through activity and motion, Childhelp Blow the Whistle on Child Abuse educates coaches, parents, educators and community members about the signs and symptoms of child abuse while teaching children ways to protect themselves against predators.
Community outreach
Community outreach is important to the organization to obtain new volunteers, donors and to spread the message about child abuse. Childhelp obtains a variety of public awareness including distributing brochures and other printed materials, media appearances and stories and public service announcements. Childhelp has produced a 30-second PSA available to both radio and television networks to air. The organization also holds numerous charity events year-long that draw in public donations and create strong community awareness.
In 2000, Childhelp founded the Childhelp National Day of Hope.[15] Held in Washington, D.C., on the first Wednesday of April (Child Abuse Prevention Month) every year, the event regularly draws the support and participation of numerous members of the United States Congress.
Advocacy Ambassadors
Over several decades and with the help of Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson's history as Hollywood actresses, Childhelp has drawn numerous celebrities and everyday volunteers to support the organization's cause, promote it in the media, attend special fund raising events, and give up their time and talents for a noteworthy cause. Notable active celebrity ambassadors include Kathie Lee Gifford, Casper Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg, Jane Seymour and Mary Costa.
In 2008, Sara and Yvonne were guests of Kathie Lee's on the
In 2007, Jane Seymour sponsored an Art Pillow contest[17] as part of the Jane Seymour Collection. Children ages 7–14 were challenged to create the design to appear on the pillow, which was revealed in April 2007 in connection with Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The following are or have been Childhelp Advocacy Ambassadors:[18]
References
- ^ "Founders of Childhelp Dedicated their lives to Fighting for Children". huffingtonpost.com. 2012-04-11. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ^ "2007 reports from abuses, various sources". Childhelp.org. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- user-generated source]
- ^ "UC Merced Awards Spendlove Prize to Childhelp Founders | Newsroom".
- ^ "Still Protecting Children, Decades After a Chance Encounter". HuffPost. 29 March 2011.
- ^ Review from Nuuvy
- ISBN 1588720659.
- ^ IMDB listing of For the Love of a Child.
- ^ "Official Web site of the Lifetime Network movie For the Love of a Child". Mylifetime.com. Retrieved 2009-08-16.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 0-88270-656-X.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - ^ Clemens, Samuel. "Dedicated to Philanthropy", Classic Images. September 2022
- ^ "Home - InBusiness Magazine". 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Co-Founders of ChildHelp". 21 October 2008.
- ^ "Childhelp's History". Childhelp.org. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services coverage in 2001 Archived September 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sara and Yvonne on the Today Show in June 2008". Childhelp.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "Jane Seymour and Art Pillow contest info". Childhelp.org. 2007-07-01. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "List of Childhelp Celebrity Ambassadors". Childhelp.org. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-16.