Childhelp
Encyclopedia
Childhelp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse
and neglect and at-risk children through advocacy
, prevention, treatment and community outreach. Founded in 1959 by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse prevention and treatment agencies in the nation. It operates facilities in seven states around the U.S. and the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), that services the entire United States
, its territories and Canada
.
The organization offers a wide variety of services, not only to abused and neglected children, but to treatment professionals, educators, parents, foster care
families the community and law enforcement
professionals. Through various community outreach efforts, Childhelp has tried to increase awareness
about child abuse. As part of those effort in 2000, Childhelp established the National Day of Hope. It is observed every year on the first Wednesday of April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In 2009, the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary. Childhelp relies upon private donations to expand its operations and services across the nation.
According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, almost five children die every day to child abuse and neglect and millions more reports are made every year of abuse.
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 in to any orphanage
s because of their mixed heritage. Within three weeks the number of children increased to 100.
Over the years the pair would work together to grow Childhelp in to one of the largest child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit organizations and operate today as Chairman and CEO (Sara) and President (Yvonne). Their efforts have won them more than 100 awards and honors. The most recent award in June 2008, was the 2008 Most Dynamic Woman Award from Clarins
USA. Sara and Yvonne have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
for five consecutive years from 2005-2009, receiving endorsements from prestigious figures such as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
and former First Lady
Barbara Bush
.
. As a board member for the International Union for Child Welfare, she was the sole United States
representative among First Ladies and ministers of numerous nations. She also served as chairman of the International Alliance of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Sara has received more than 100 awards for her service to children, including the Arizona Foundation for Women’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award received in 2004. Most recently, Sara was awarded the 2008 Most Dynamic Woman of the Year award from Clarins
USA. Others include an award for international collaboration to prevent child abuse presented by the Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
; a U.S. Department of Justice award presented by President Ronald Reagan
; the Kiwanis World Service Medal and an award from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. She has been the recipient of several awards in Washington, D.C.
, including the National Caring Award and the Hubert Humphrey Memorial Award at the Touchdown Club, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Charity Awards Dinner. Sara, along with co-founder Yvonne Fedderson, have been nominated for the fourth time for the Nobel Peace Prize
. Endorsements for the prestigious nomination include letters from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former First Lady
Barbara Bush
, along with numerous politicians, educators and corporate executives.
Sara O’Meara was born Sara Buckner in Knoxville, Tennessee
and was educated at Briarcliff Junior College, New York
; Endicott College
, Massachusetts
; The Sorbonne, France
; and Pasadena Playhouse
, California
. Sara lives in Paradise Valley
, Arizona
. She has a son, John Hopkins. Her other son, Charles, died in 1988 in an auto accident. Sara also has two stepdaughters, Taryn and Whitney, and three grandchildren. Sara lost her husband Colonel
Robert (Bob) Sigholtz in 2005. Bob was a highly decorated Colonel who fought in three wars – World War II
, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War
. He was also the Athletic Director
of Georgetown University
.
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 humanitarian organizations including the Assistance League, and the Mary and Joseph League, as well as several professional organizations. She also has served on the board of directors of Children to Children, Inc. and is an honorary board member for The Dyslexia Foundation.
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 Clarins
USA. She and Sara have also been given the Kiwanis World Service Medal, the American Ireland Fund Humanitarian Award, The University of California Riverside Chancellor’s Founder’s Award, and Family Circle
Magazine’s “Women Who Make a Difference.” Sara and Yvonne have been nominated for the fourth time for the Nobel Peace Prize
. Endorsements for the prestigious nomination include letters from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former First Lady
Barbara Bush
, along with numerous politicians, educators, and corporate executives.
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.
. One little boy treated at the Childhelp Merv Griffin
Village in Beaumont, California
is the focus of the title. After witnessing his parents murder his sister, the little boy became totally silent and traveled through 15 different foster homes before finally ending up at the Village. The book details the Childhelp staff's attempt to try and get the boy to speak. After days, the man in charge of the Village's animal therapy program took the little boy to the barn and told him that "Chocolate," a pony, was now his responsibility. Everyday, the little boy ran to the barn to take care of Chocolate. On the fifth day, he put his arms around the pony and said, "I love you." Once his silence had been broken, the boy rapidly began to heal.
In 2005, the book was produced in to a Lifetime Network movie. For the Love of a Child regularly airs on the Lifetime Network and is an accurate representative of the book. Actress Peri Gilpin
plays Sara O'Meara and actress Teri Polo
plays Yvonne Fedderson. The film won two Young Artist Awards in 2007; Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actor, Jake D. Smith; and Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress, Emily Hirst
.
s of children. The organization first took roots in Japan
in 1959 under the name of International Orphans to help the unwanted children of American
soldiers and Japanese women. In 1976 the organization changed names to Children's Village USA then later to Childhelp USA before finally settling on Childhelp. Today it is one of the largest child abuse prevention non-profit organizations.
, 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.
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 surrogate mothers to a brood of 100 Japanese-American children that were left on the doorstep of the hut, which now needed to become an orphanage.
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.
in mass numbers before and during the fall of Saigon. Operation Babylift
was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries (including, for example, Australia
, France
and Canada
) at the end of the Vietnam War
. The first flight crashed
after the locks of the rear loading ramp failed, killing 138 people, among them 78 children. By the final American flight out of South Vietnam, over 2,000 infants and children had been evacuated.
Sara and Yvonne helped arrange Operation Babylift in America and saw thousands of children to adoption agencies. At the time Childhelp was named International Orphans.
The tour’s goal was to create a grassroots groundswell of support through joining Childhelp’s national membership group. Through this group, members will be updated on legislation, tips, facts, stats and ways to get involved in their communities to end child abuse.
On April 2, the tour was officially launched on the sets of The Today Show and Nancy Grace
.
The hotline receives absolutely no government funding and is supported by the generous donations of the community, organizations and foundations.
, 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.
through several different methods.
The first is at two residential treatment centers known as Villages. Both villages, located in rural communities in California and Virginia
provide specialized, comprehensive treatment programs for court-referred, severally abused, neglected and at-risk children. A staff of therapists, teachers, social workers and medical professionals work at the villages to provide the children with the best possible care. A combination of psychotherapy
, education, art, music, animal-assisted, spiritual and recreation
therapies are used. Children typically live at a Childhelp village between three months and two years.
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 group home
s. The group homes provide an intensive level of supervision and therapeutic services in order to prepare children for the transition to non-institutional care in foster homes, adoptive homes or the home of their family or relatives.
Lastly, Childhelp provides long and short-term foster care in California, Michigan
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.
, California
, Georgia
and Virginia
. The organization offers a range of seminars and workshops geared to child welfare
case workers, medical personnel, fire professionals and the law enforcement community throughout the year. In addition, training is offered to foster
families and caretakers of abused and neglected children, including babysitters. Childhelp also provides Good Touch/Bad Touch training to educators in Georgia.
that helps children in school, Kindergarten
through 6th grade, recognize and report
the signs of sexual abuse
. Authored in 1983 by Pam Church, the curriculum has undergone 11 different revisions to keep it current, meets strict educational criteria and has been used by over 6000 educators. The program, operating in 42 states
nationwide was acquired by Childhelp in 2005.
is a 30-minute documentary regarding the dangers and addictiveness of methamphetamines. Dr. Jerry Jones at Arkansas Children's Hospital believes there is a link between meth use and child abuse .
. Childhelp obtains a variety of public awareness including distributing brochures and other printed materials, media appearances and stories and public service announcement
s. 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. 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
.
, Casper Van Dien
and Catherine Oxenberg
, Jane Seymour
and Mary Costa
.
In 2008, Sara and Yvonne were guests of Kathie Lee's on the Today Show to speak about the epidemic of child abuse
.
In 2007, Jane Seymour sponsored an Art Pillow contest 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:
Susan Anton
, The Bellamy Brothers, Bertrand Berry
, Pat Boone
, Joyce Bulifant
, Gary Collins
, Carol Connors
, Mary Costa
, Norm Crosby
, John D'Aquino
, Phyllis Diller
, Ami Dolenz
, Ralna English
, Rhonda Fleming
, Raymond Floyd
, David Foster
, Glenn Frey
, Leeza Gibbons
, Kathie Lee Gifford
, Melissa Gilbert
, Peri Gilpen, Amy Grant
, Lee Greenwood
, Mary Hart, Florence Henderson
, Tyler Hoechlin
, Crystal Hunt
, Anne Jeffreys
, David Keith
, Megyn Kelly
, Cheryl Ladd
, Carol Lawrence, Mario Lopez
, Ron Masak
, Mary Ann Mobley
, Phil Morris, Nancy O'Dell, Jamie O'Neal
, Merlin Olsen
, Catherine Oxenberg
, Matthew Perry
, Sasha Pieterse
, Jimmy Pinchak, Collin Raye
, Mackenzie Rosman
, Jack Scalia
, Andrea Schroder, Rick Schroder
, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Jane Seymour
, T.G. Sheppard, John Stamos
, Connie Stevens
, George Stults
, Alan Thicke
, Linda Thompson
, Pam Tillis
, Heather Tom
, Kathleen Turner
, Casper Van Dien
, Phil Vassar
, Caitlin Wachs
, Betty White
, Barbara Young
, Steve Young, Jack Youngblood
, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and neglect and at-risk children through advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, prevention, treatment and community outreach. Founded in 1959 by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse prevention and treatment agencies in the nation. It operates facilities in seven states around the U.S. and the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), that services the entire United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, its territories and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The organization offers a wide variety of services, not only to abused and neglected children, but to treatment professionals, educators, parents, foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
families the community and law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
professionals. Through various community outreach efforts, Childhelp has tried to increase awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
about child abuse. As part of those effort in 2000, Childhelp established the National Day of Hope. It is observed every year on the first Wednesday of April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In 2009, the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary. Childhelp relies upon private donations to expand its operations and services across the nation.
According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, almost five children die every day to child abuse and neglect and millions more reports are made every year of abuse.
Founders
Sara O'Meara (then Sara Buckner) and Yvonne Fedderson (then Yvonne Lime) first met each other in 1958 on the set of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, a popular 1950s television show. The pair, rising Hollywood actresses, played the part of Ricky's girlfriend and quickly became fast friends.While on a government-sponsored goodwill tour to support the troops in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
the pair founded Childhelp in 1959 when they opened International Orphans to support 11 Japanese-American children found wandering the streets, unable to get in to any orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
s because of their mixed heritage. Within three weeks the number of children increased to 100.
Over the years the pair would work together to grow Childhelp in to one of the largest child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit organizations and operate today as Chairman and CEO (Sara) and President (Yvonne). Their efforts have won them more than 100 awards and honors. The most recent award in June 2008, was the 2008 Most Dynamic Woman Award from Clarins
Clarins
Clarins is a French cosmetics company specializing in skincare products and fragrances.The family company was founded in 1954 by the medical student Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who died in 2007...
USA. Sara and Yvonne have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
for five consecutive years from 2005-2009, receiving endorsements from prestigious figures such as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
and former First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
.
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 child welfareChild welfare
Child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability...
. As a board member for the International Union for Child Welfare, she was the sole United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
representative among First Ladies and ministers of numerous nations. She also served as chairman of the International Alliance of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Sara has received more than 100 awards for her service to children, including the Arizona Foundation for Women’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award received in 2004. Most recently, Sara was awarded the 2008 Most Dynamic Woman of the Year award from Clarins
Clarins
Clarins is a French cosmetics company specializing in skincare products and fragrances.The family company was founded in 1954 by the medical student Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who died in 2007...
USA. Others include an award for international collaboration to prevent child abuse presented by the Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
; a U.S. Department of Justice award presented by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; the Kiwanis World Service Medal and an award from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. She has been the recipient of several awards in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, including the National Caring Award and the Hubert Humphrey Memorial Award at the Touchdown Club, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Charity Awards Dinner. Sara, along with co-founder Yvonne Fedderson, have been nominated for the fourth time for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
. Endorsements for the prestigious nomination include letters from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, along with numerous politicians, educators and corporate executives.
Sara O’Meara was born Sara Buckner in Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and was educated at Briarcliff Junior College, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; Endicott College
Endicott College
- History :Endicott was founded in 1939 by Eleanor Tupper and her husband, George O. Bierkoe, as a two-year women’s college. The college was issued its first charter by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in that year and graduated its first class in 1941. In 1944, it was approved by the state for...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
; The Sorbonne, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; and Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Sara lives in Paradise Valley
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. She has a son, John Hopkins. Her other son, Charles, died in 1988 in an auto accident. Sara also has two stepdaughters, Taryn and Whitney, and three grandchildren. Sara lost her husband Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Robert (Bob) Sigholtz in 2005. Bob was a highly decorated Colonel who fought in three wars – World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He was also the Athletic Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
of Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
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
Don Fedderson
Don Fedderson was an American television executive producer who created a number of television programs including The Millionaire, Date with the Angels, Who Do You Trust?, My Three Sons, Family Affair, To Rome with Love and The Smith Family...
Productions. Her responsibilities include managing the rights of the television programs he produced, including Family Affair
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
, My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, and The Betty White Show
The Betty White Show
The Betty White Show is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 12, 1977, to January 2, 1978. Fourteen episodes were transmitted. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises.-Synopsis:...
. She has served on the company’s board of directors for more than 30 years. Yvonne, a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
, 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 humanitarian organizations including the Assistance League, and the Mary and Joseph League, as well as several professional organizations. She also has served on the board of directors of Children to Children, Inc. and is an honorary board member for The Dyslexia Foundation.
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 Clarins
Clarins
Clarins is a French cosmetics company specializing in skincare products and fragrances.The family company was founded in 1954 by the medical student Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who died in 2007...
USA. She and Sara have also been given the Kiwanis World Service Medal, the American Ireland Fund Humanitarian Award, The University of California Riverside Chancellor’s Founder’s Award, and Family Circle
Family Circle
Family Circle is an American women's magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought...
Magazine’s “Women Who Make a Difference.” Sara and Yvonne have been nominated for the fourth time for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
. Endorsements for the prestigious nomination include letters from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, along with numerous politicians, educators, and corporate executives.
Yvonne Fedderson was born in Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and now makes her home in Paradise Valley
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. 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. The book, based upon a true story, chronicles how Sara and Yvonne began their work with children and follows the story of the organization from the founders, associates and victims. The founders chronicle their participation in such well-known events as Operation BabyliftOperation Babylift
Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries at the end of the Vietnam War , from April 3–26, 1975...
. One little boy treated at the Childhelp Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
Village in Beaumont, California
Beaumont, California
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States in the Greater Los Angeles area.Now a growing, community planned city, the population was 36,877 at the 2010 census, and expected to be up to 125,000 projected by 2040, making Beaumont as California's next, newest fastest-growing...
is the focus of the title. After witnessing his parents murder his sister, the little boy became totally silent and traveled through 15 different foster homes before finally ending up at the Village. The book details the Childhelp staff's attempt to try and get the boy to speak. After days, the man in charge of the Village's animal therapy program took the little boy to the barn and told him that "Chocolate," a pony, was now his responsibility. Everyday, the little boy ran to the barn to take care of Chocolate. On the fifth day, he put his arms around the pony and said, "I love you." Once his silence had been broken, the boy rapidly began to heal.
In 2005, the book was produced in to a Lifetime Network movie. For the Love of a Child regularly airs on the Lifetime Network and is an accurate representative of the book. Actress Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin is an American actress known for her role as Roz Doyle in the U.S. television series Frasier from 1993 until 2004. Along with the principal cast, Gilpin won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2000...
plays Sara O'Meara and actress Teri Polo
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...
plays Yvonne Fedderson. The film won two Young Artist Awards in 2007; Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actor, Jake D. Smith; and Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress, Emily Hirst
Emily Hirst
-Career:Hirst was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Hirst first appeared in the TV series The Twilight Zone in 2002 and she has a small role in X2: X-Men United as The "Ice Cream Girl" in 2003....
.
History
Childhelp has enjoyed a rich history that has spanned internationally over 50 years and impacted the lives of millionMillion
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
s of children. The organization first took roots in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1959 under the name of International Orphans to help the unwanted children of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers and Japanese women. In 1976 the organization changed names to Children's Village USA then later to Childhelp USA before finally settling on Childhelp. Today it is one of the largest child abuse prevention non-profit organizations.
Japanese Orphanages
In 1959 Sara and Yvonne traveled to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, 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
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the two actresses took the children to their hotel room for the night and sought out an orphanage the next day.
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 surrogate mothers to a brood of 100 Japanese-American children that were left on the doorstep of the hut, which now needed to become an orphanage.
Returning to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 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.
Operation Babylift
In April 1975, American troops and Vietnamese refugees evacuated VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in mass numbers before and during the fall of Saigon. Operation Babylift
Operation Babylift
Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries at the end of the Vietnam War , from April 3–26, 1975...
was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries (including, for example, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) at the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The first flight crashed
Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident
The Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident refers to the 4 April 1975 crash of 68-0218, a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy participating in Operation Babylift, which crashed on approach to an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam. The cause was ascribed to loss of flight control due to explosive...
after the locks of the rear loading ramp failed, killing 138 people, among them 78 children. By the final American flight out of South Vietnam, over 2,000 infants and children had been evacuated.
Sara and Yvonne helped arrange Operation Babylift in America and saw thousands of children to adoption agencies. At the time Childhelp was named International Orphans.
National Bus Tour
In April 2009, Childhelp launched a bus tour that traveled to several major cities around the U.S. The "End Child Abuse Now" Tour was designed to bring about awareness to child abuse and neglect. The 40 foot bus was decorated with the Childhelp colors and graphics.The tour’s goal was to create a grassroots groundswell of support through joining Childhelp’s national membership group. Through this group, members will be updated on legislation, tips, facts, stats and ways to get involved in their communities to end child abuse.
On April 2, the tour was officially launched on the sets of The Today Show and Nancy Grace
Nancy Grace (TV program)
Nancy Grace is an American current affairs program hosted by legal commentator Nancy Grace that airs weekdays on HLN which mainly deals with current-day true crime cases.-Controversies:...
.
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 five advocacy centers in the U.S. that minimize the trauma to an abused child through condensing the investigative process by housing professionals in law enforcementLaw enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
, child protective services
Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services is the name of a governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as "Department of Children & Family Services"...
, medicine, mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
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 abuseChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
through several different methods.
The first is at two residential treatment centers known as Villages. Both villages, located in rural communities in California and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
provide specialized, comprehensive treatment programs for court-referred, severally abused, neglected and at-risk children. A staff of therapists, teachers, social workers and medical professionals work at the villages to provide the children with the best possible care. A combination of psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, education, art, music, animal-assisted, spiritual and recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
therapies are used. Children typically live at a Childhelp village between three months and two years.
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 group home
Group home
A group home is a private residence designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic.-Types of group homes:...
s. The group homes provide an intensive level of supervision and therapeutic services in order to prepare children for the transition to non-institutional care in foster homes, adoptive homes or the home of their family or relatives.
Lastly, Childhelp provides long and short-term foster care in California, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. 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.
Professional training
Childhelp offers a variety of training opportunities to professionals in ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The organization offers a range of seminars and workshops geared to child welfare
Child welfare
Child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability...
case workers, medical personnel, fire professionals and the law enforcement community throughout the year. In addition, training is offered to foster
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
families and caretakers of abused and neglected children, including babysitters. Childhelp also provides Good Touch/Bad Touch training to educators in Georgia.
Good Touch/Bad Touch
Good Touch/Bad Touch is a curriculumCurriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
that helps children in school, Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through 6th grade, recognize and report
Report
A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....
the signs of sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
. Authored in 1983 by Pam Church, the curriculum has undergone 11 different revisions to keep it current, meets strict educational criteria and has been used by over 6000 educators. The program, operating in 42 states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
nationwide was acquired by Childhelp in 2005.
Childhelp Crystal Darkness
Childhelp acquired ownership of the Crystal Darkness Campaign in May 2008. Childhelp Crystal DarknessChildhelp Crystal Darkness
Crystal Darkness is a 30 minute Emmy and Telly Award-winning documentary on the dangers and prevalence of the drug methamphetamine. The film features powerful testimonies of young people who have gone through the horrors of meth addiction as well as high profile politicians and law enforcement...
is a 30-minute documentary regarding the dangers and addictiveness of methamphetamines. Dr. Jerry Jones at Arkansas Children's Hospital believes there is a link between meth use and child abuse .
Community outreach
Community outreach is important to the organization to obtain new volunteers, donors and to spread the message about child abuseChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. Childhelp obtains a variety of public awareness including distributing brochures and other printed materials, media appearances and stories and public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s. 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. Held in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
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
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
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 GiffordKathie Lee Gifford
Kathie Lee Gifford is an American television host, singer, songwriter and actress, best known for her 15-year run on the talk show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin...
, Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
and Catherine Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg is an American actress known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s American prime time soap opera Dynasty. The daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Oxenberg is a descendant of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty.-Early life:Though born in New York City,...
, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
and Mary Costa
Mary Costa
Mary Costa is an American singer, actress, and Disney Legend. She is best known for playing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. She is also a professional opera singer....
.
In 2008, Sara and Yvonne were guests of Kathie Lee's on the Today Show to speak about the epidemic of child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
.
In 2007, Jane Seymour sponsored an Art Pillow contest 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:
Susan Anton
Susan Anton
-Youth:Anton attended Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, and graduated in 1968. After high school, Anton attended San Bernardino Valley College...
, The Bellamy Brothers, Bertrand Berry
Bertrand Berry
Bertrand Demond Berry is a retired American football defensive end who most recently played for the Arizona Cardinals.-Early years:Berry started his football career in the Humble Area Football League...
, Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
, Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
, Gary Collins
Gary Collins (actor)
Gary Ennis Collins is an American film and television performer.-Early life and career:Collins was born in Venice, California, to a waitress/factory worker mother. After attending Santa Monica City College, he enlisted in the U.S...
, Carol Connors
Carol Connors (singer)
Carol Connors is a retired American singer-songwriter. She is perhaps best known as the lead vocalist on The Teddy Bears' single, "To Know Him Is To Love Him", which was written by her bandmate Phil Spector.-Biography:She was the lead singer of the pop vocal trio known as The Teddy Bears, which...
, Mary Costa
Mary Costa
Mary Costa is an American singer, actress, and Disney Legend. She is best known for playing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. She is also a professional opera singer....
, Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby is an American comedian sometimes associated with the Borscht Belt who often appeared on television in the 1970s. He is best known for his use of malapropisms and is often called The Master of Malaprop. He was born in Boston.-Career:Crosby went solo as a standup comedian, adopting a...
, John D'Aquino
John D'Aquino
John D'Aquino is a Canadian-American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Benjamin Krieg in the NBC TV series seaQuest DSV during the show's first season, a role he later reprised in the third season and President Richard Martinez in the Disney Channel Original Series Cory in the...
, Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
, Ami Dolenz
Ami Dolenz
Ami Dolenz is an American television and film actress and producer.- Early life and career :Born in Burbank, California into a show business family, Dolenz is the daughter of Micky Dolenz of the 1960s group the Monkees, and British television presenter Samantha Juste...
, Ralna English
Ralna English
Ralna Eve English American-born singer was born in Haskell, the seat of Haskell County, north of Abilene, Texas. She gained fame as half of the husband-and-wife singing duo of Guy & Ralna with then-husband Guy Hovis, both of whom were featured performers on The Lawrence Welk Show.English was reared...
, Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming , is an American film and television actress.She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most beautiful and glamorous actresses of her day...
, Raymond Floyd
Raymond Floyd
Raymond Loran "Ray" Floyd is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour....
, David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
, Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Kim Gibbons is an American talk show host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.-Early life:...
, Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathie Lee Gifford is an American television host, singer, songwriter and actress, best known for her 15-year run on the talk show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin...
, Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
, Peri Gilpen, Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
, Lee Greenwood
Lee Greenwood
Melvin Lee Greenwood is an American country music artist. Active since the early 1980s, he has released more than twenty major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the Billboard country music charts....
, Mary Hart, Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
, Tyler Hoechlin
Tyler Hoechlin
Tyler Lee Hoechlin is an American actor who got his big break starring as Tom Hanks' son in the film Road to Perdition...
, Crystal Hunt
Crystal Hunt
Crystal Clarese Hunt is an American actress. She is best known for playing Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light from 2003-2006. She played the role of Stacy Morasco on One Life to Live from February 2009 until March 2010.-Career:...
, Anne Jeffreys
Anne Jeffreys
Anne Jeffreys is an American actress and singer.- Career :Born Anne Carmichael in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Jeffreys entered the entertainment field at a young age; her initial training was in voice , but she decided as a teenager to sign with the John Robert Powers agency as a junior model.Her...
, David Keith
David Keith
David Lemuel Keith is an American actor and director. He received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year – Actor for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman.-Career:...
, Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly
Megyn Marie Kelly , formerly known as Megyn Kendall, is an American journalist and news anchor employed by the Fox News Channel. Kelly currently hosts America Live from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST live from the network’s New York City headquarters...
, Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors...
, Carol Lawrence, Mario Lopez
Mario López
Mario Michael Lopez, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of the character A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, which he also portrayed as a regular on Saved by the Bell: The College Years...
, Ron Masak
Ron Masak
Ron Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...
, Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.-Career:After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a career in both film and television...
, Phil Morris, Nancy O'Dell, Jamie O'Neal
Jamie O'Neal
Jamie O'Neal is a contemporary country singer and songwriter who has had success in the United States. She was born Jamie Murphy in Sydney, Australia, to parents Jimmy and Julie Murphy, who were also professional musicians...
, Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
, Catherine Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg is an American actress known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s American prime time soap opera Dynasty. The daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Oxenberg is a descendant of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty.-Early life:Though born in New York City,...
, Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (actor)
Matthew Langford Perry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends...
, Sasha Pieterse
Sasha Pieterse
Sasha Pieterse is a South African-born American actress.-Career:She began acting in 2002, when she was given the role of Buffy Davis on the Warner Brothers remake of the popular show Family Affair. In 2004, she appeared in Stargate SG-1 and House...
, Jimmy Pinchak, Collin Raye
Collin Raye
Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray (born August 22, 1959 or 1960,Although multiple online sources all indicate Raye's date of birth as 1959, Raye's MySpace lists his date of birth as 1960. Furthermore, the 2004 Deseret News article cited in this article indicates the singer as...
, Mackenzie Rosman
Mackenzie Rosman
Mackenzie Lyn Rosman is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television role as Ruthie Camden on The WB/The CW's longest-running show 7th Heaven.- Personal life :Rosman was born in Charleston, South Carolina....
, Jack Scalia
Jack Scalia
Jack Scalia is an American actor. He has had many roles in television series , television movies, and feature films.-Early life:...
, Andrea Schroder, Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder
Richard Bartlett "Rick" Schroder, Jr. is an American actor and film director.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons...
, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, T.G. Sheppard, John Stamos
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos is an American actor, singer and musician best known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the cancellation of that show in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous television films and series. From 2006...
, Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
, George Stults
George Stults
George Sheehy Stults is an American actor and former fashion model. Stults grew up in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado but was born in Detroit, Michigan...
, Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.- Early life :...
, Linda Thompson
Linda Thompson
Linda Diane Thompson is an American actress, lyricist and beauty pageant winner who rose to international fame as Elvis Presley's long time girlfriend after he separated from his wife.-Pageants:...
, Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
, Heather Tom
Heather Tom
Heather Marie Tom is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless, Kelly Cramer on One Life to Live and currently Katie Logan Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful....
, Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
, Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
, Phil Vassar
Phil Vassar
Phil Vassar is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw , Jo Dee Messina , Collin Raye , and Alan Jackson Phil Vassar (born May 28, 1964 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an...
, Caitlin Wachs
Caitlin Wachs
Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs is an American actress who has acted in several films and TV series. She appeared alongside Ally Walker and Robert Davi in Profiler, and played the president's daughter, Rebecca Calloway, on the series Commander in Chief....
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, Barbara Young
Barbara Young (actor)
Barbara Young is an English actress. She is probably best known for her role as the future Emperor Nero's mother, Agrippinilla, in the landmark 1976 BBC serial I, Claudius....
, Steve Young, Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...