In 1952, two young Hollywood actresses, Sara (Buckner) O’Meara and Yvonne (Lime) Fedderson, met playing the bubbly girlfriends of Ricky and David Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Little did they know at the time, it was a friendship that would last a lifetime. When the two budding actresses were abroad in Vietnam they met 11 homeless orphans who changed their lives forever. Their mission from that day forward, to protect and advocate for children, International Orphans was founded by Sara and Yvonne to support those 11 Japanese-American children. They began their lifelong careers in fundraising by passing around a hat in the audience and collecting donations after singing to the servicemen. When our men in uniform learned about the children, they were eager to help.. Eventually they raised enough money to build and maintain five orphanages, a hospital and a school. Word quickly spread of the wonderful things Sara and Yvonne were doing with International Orphans, and they were invited by Nancy Reagan, the First Lady of California, to speak about their life-saving missions. Their heart-wrenching story would be the perfect way to address “America’s best kept secret”—child abuse to the nation.
Sara and Yvonne worked endlessly to open the doors of the first pioneering residential treatment center. They opened the Children’s Village USA, in Beaumont, California in 1978.
Childhelp remains true to their vision today. The internationally respected nonprofit is the largest organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect as well as at-risk children. Though it has grown beyond their wildest dreams, CEO and Chairman, Sara O’Meara, and President, Yvonne Fedderson, who still work every day for this critical cause, have never forgotten those eleven little orphans in a storm that inspired their mission of hope.
We have had a relationship with the Childhelp since 1989, when we would photograph the Golf Tournament fundraiser. We donate our time and photography to help bring awareness to an organization that does such tremendous work. It is our honor to provide our services to Childhelp. We believe it takes a "village", especially as it concerns the most vulnerable among us and we are passionate supporters of the work that Childhelp does. The images below are some of the amazing donors and event organizers we've had the pleasure of photographing over the last few years.