National Childhelp Day of Hope – April 1, 2026

History of National Childhelp Day of Hope

Founded by Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson in 1959, Childhelp is America’s oldest and largest non-profit organization. It is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Childhelp provides treatment programs across the country for victims of abuse and runs the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline — the only national helpline for child abuse and neglect. The organization began as International Orphans, created after O’Meara and Fedderson took on the responsibility to support 11 Japanese-American children they’d encountered in Japan while on a government-sponsored goodwill tour. They returned to the U.S to raise funds for the cause, and in 1961, International Orphans built two large orphanages in the Tokyo area for Asian American children.

In 1976, O’Meara and Fedderson launched a campaign against child abuse called the “Children’s Village U.S.A.” It protected severely abused children and provided them with treatment and therapy. In 1979, O’Meara and Fedderson worked alongside President Jimmy Carter to establish April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Later, in 1983, Children’s Village U.S.A’s name was changed to Childhelp U.S.A., and Childhelp International was created for international activities.

Children’s Village U.S.A. created the first national toll-free hotline: 4-A-Child (1-800). It still operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hotline offers a variety of support resources from professional crisis counselors. Congress voted to designate the first Wednesday in April as National Childhelp Day of Hope in 2000. On the holiday, people across the nation take the time to say a prayer and observe a moment of silence in honor and remembrance of the children who suffer from abuse and neglect.