Marketing Consumer Group: Child Help Organization Inc.
ChiledHelp.org is a foundation that prevents and treat abused children. ChildHelp.org has a mission to, “to meet the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of abused and neglected children. We do so by focusing our efforts in the areas of treatment, prevention, and research.”[1] They function on the premises that: every child has a purpose to help the community, giving unconditional love is the beginning of healing, and that these unfortunate children deserve the best that the community can give.[2]
This wasn’t always how Childhelp.org was.
ChildHelp.org was founded in 1959 by two American actresses, Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson. It started when they went to Japan after the war to entertain the US troops, a practice to maintain the morale of the soldiers. While they were there, they noticed 11 desperate orphaned Amerasian children on the street suffering the cold. Out of the kindness of their hearts, they decided to bring them to an orphanage, later on realizing that these 11 orphans had been rejected by the orphanages due to lack of space and the ethnicity of the 11 children. Eventually, they found a woman in a hut who was already caring for Amerasian children. Mama Kin, as she was called, made an agreement with the 2 actresses to take in the 11 children if O’Meara and Fedderson could find financial support. [3]
O’Meara and Fedderson did and their efforts were recognized resulting in the establishment of 4 orphanages under their lead in Japan.
At that time, they were called International Orphans, Inc. (IOI). In 1966, they were invited to the White House and were asked to do the same thing for Vietnamese-American children. They were able to build 6 orphanages, but when the Americans pulled out of Vietnam, the actresses were instrumental in the “Baby Lift” Operation wherein the Vietnamese children were pulled and were adopted off to very willing and loving American parents.[4]
In 1978, the foundation was asked by the White House to put their attention and efforts to abused children in the United States. This is the point where they changed the focus of their foundation, from orphans to abused children and thus they changed their name to ChildHelp.org.[5]
Since then ChildHelp.org has created numerous programs to help abused and neglected children. They have advocacy centers in 8 regions, namely, Michigan, California, Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia, Virginia, Washington D.C, and Arizona which houses two centers, one in Phoenix and the other in their headquarters in Scottsdale. Each center coordinates with other institutions in the area.
For instance, in Phoenix, a partnership has been established between Child Help and Safe Child Center at Flagstaff Medical Center to attend to tribal rural areas. In Georgia, the Good Touch / Bad Touch program, a violence prevention program and now considered a premium educational product, is being endorsed and given to schools by ChildHelp.org so that the children, as well as the teachers and administrators can be properly educated about sexual abuse.[6] In Tennessee, a foster family program is being endorsed so that sexually abused children can live in a safe foster home.
These kinds of programs that involve the community are one of the ways that ChildHelp.org creates awareness throughout the community.
Another strategy that they use, which is often used by most people, is that they have Hollywood celebrities to endorse their product. In the case of ChildHelp.org it is not a product that they are promoting but they are creating awareness by using their celebrity patrons. Due to the founders Hollywood connections, a movie was created to pay tribute to the work of O’Meara and Fedderson. This movie, entitled For the Love of a Child, was an immediate eye opener for the whole of America. With this movie, not only was the problem of child abuse put to the forefront, but also, the mission of ChildHelp.org was advertised to allow people to contribute to and help these abused children.
Another way of promoting and pushing the cause of ChildHelp.org is by affiliating companies and corporation to the program allowing the employees to donate via their employers to ChildHelp.org. Apart from a straight donation, people can buy items from ChildHelp.org, the profits of which will go to their programs or people can volunteer for programs or become a foster parent. [7]
ChilHelp.org has gone a long way from Japan and its orphanages. It cannot be doubted the effort that Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson have put into this foundation, making them extremely deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. From these two people a lot of children have been given proper futures and families. It started in a small hut Japan and transformed into a fortress of love and care. It has also transformed itself numerous times to address the needs of children, whatever they may be, in Asia and in America. Although, the focus may have changed from orphanages to abused children, the core remains the same – children have a purpose and with enough love from the community they will be able to achieve it.
Reference:
ChildHelp.Org. 12 September 2007. Child Help Inc.. 12 September 2007. < http://www.childhelp.org/home>
Good Touch/ Bad Touch. 12 September 2007. Child Help Inc. 12 September 2007. <https://childhelp.6connex.com/event/SpeakUpBeSafe/login>
“For the Love of a Child”. LifetimeTV.com. 12 September 2007. 12 September 2007.
https://childhelp.6connex.com/event/SpeakUpBeSafe/login
