Photography by: Geoff Reed Photography Creative Direction & Retouching by Rick Rome
At Home Childhelp With Yvonne Fedderson & Sara O’Meara, founders of by:
Rick Rome & Deborah Brown
Yvonne Fedderson and Sara O’Meara have been
This single decision would create the organization
friends since they met on the set of The Adven-
that we today know as Childhelp.
tures of Ozzie and Harriett over 50 years ago. They acted together, lived together (along with their late
“Yvonne and I were warm and safe in our hotel
husbands), and shared a quest to save millions
room in Tokyo, Japan after four days of a severe
of abused, neglected and abandoned children.
typhoon” Sara recalls. “It was one of the worst
Theirs is a story of love and commitment, and of
the city has ever seen. We had never experienced
rising to a challenge to right some terrible wrongs.
such fierce storms in our lives.” For a couple of those nights, they sat in their hotel room in total
Their mission for children began in 1959 when
darkness with the high winds pounding at the win-
they were sent on a government-sponsored good-
dows. All power had gone out, and it was a “red
will tour to visit troops in Japan.
flag” alert.
A single decision made during that trip created a
At the first sign of clearing, and despite hotel staff’s
wave that would carry them both to their calling in
advice to stay in, Sara and Yvonne bundled them-
life. This single decision would be responsible for
selves up and ventured out to explore the storm’s
saving children worldwide – over 6 million to date.
aftermath. Youthful curiosity would be a savior to
so many. What Sara and Yvonne found in their lit-
After they made it back to their room, Sara and
tle adventure was a heartbreaking combination
Yvonne looked at each other nervously wondering
of devastation on the streets from the storm, and
what to do next. How to order extra food without
a group of abandoned children a mile or so into
raising suspicion was on both their minds! When
their forbidden walk.
the food arrived from the hotel staff, it came with
The children, many barefoot and ranging from two years of age to 12, were huddled together under a small awning trying to protect themselves from the freezing winds. Their knuckles were cracked and bleeding from the weather. Sara and Yvonne immediately unbuttoned their coats and beckoned the children to come to them for warmth. The children dove under one by one, the coats ballooning as all 11 squeezed in. Sara remembers looking into Yvonne’s eyes as they felt the shivering clus-
Sara & Y vonne wit h abandon ed in the children found streets of Japan (1
959)
ter of children against them. “We didn’t know what to do to comfort them. We pulled out our Englishto-Japanese dictionary in a desperate effort to
the necessary number of plates and utensils: 13
translate and ask them where their parents were.”
plates, 13 glasses, and table settings for 13. The hotel staff knew exactly what Sara and Yvonne
Having no luck, all they could think of to say to the
were up to and the staff participated.
children was, “No papa sans? No mama sans?” and the children just cried harder. At that moment
Later Sara and Yvonne decided to approach the
Sara and Yvonne knew what they had to do. They
Colonel about the situation. He was very reproach-
shuffled themselves and the children through the
ful when he told them how severe a mistake they
devastation of the storm back to the hotel room.
had made. He immediately created a list of orphan-
They were determined to give the children what
ages that would receive the children.
they needed at that moment: a hot meal, warm dry clothes, and a good night’s sleep. If they were
Unfortunately, the children were rejected at every
caught by a military officer or other official, it could
turn because they were the product of an American
have ended their ability to help these children, so
soldier father and a Japanese mother. Sara and
they made sure they did not get caught. Walking
Yvonne ended up sneaking these children back
through the lobby with children under their coats
into their hotel room, but this time not under their
and frozen smiles on their faces, they made it to
coats, but rather up the hotel’s back fire escape.
the hotel room and the desperately needed shelter it provided.
Sara and Yvonne quickly realized that these children were not going to be taken in by any of the or-
phanages on the Colonel’s list. This enraged them. They were there on a U.S.O. tour and they had to perform. When they ended up on stage once again they had a gut wrenching decision to make. “As we went through the show that night,” Sara recalls, “Yvonne and I could hardly concentrate on our performance. When it was over, instead of leaving after our applause, we just stayed there at center stage. Our hearts
g
ainin
ert e ent n n o & Yv 59) Sara ildre (19 h the c
pounded. I don’t remember who
children in spite of miles of red tape and bureauc-
started talking first. But by the time
racy. They are an amazing team, with an amazing
we were done, we had spoken out about these
friendship.
children. We pointed out to the soldiers that some
and accomplished amazing goals. What we have
of these children might be their children, and we
to question in ourselves is this. Aren’t we all ca-
begged them to assist these innocent little Amer-
pable of making a huge difference? Every one of
Asian orphans.”
us has the capability of kindness within us, and if
They have overcome amazing feats
we all spent just one hour per day trying to help Sara and Yvonne then passed a hat pleading for assistance. The two showgirls hit a nerve and the response was fantastic. The next morning more than
others, wouldn’t this be a better world? Yvo n first ne & S a a Bab rrivals ra with ylift ” ou of “Op er t of Viet ation nam
a dozen soldiers arrived at the hotel in an army truck, filled with blankets, Crations, and lumber to help the one orphanage that might take these children in. The original 11 children turned into over 100 in very short order as word spread throughout the community.
Sara and Yvonne have spent the past 50 years overcoming obstacles and roadblocks, helping
If all of us could take a moment to reflect, understand that our journey in this life is not a big party or adventure, how much better would all our lives be? Sometimes we are not as giving, sharing or charitable as we can be. But if we could take a moment to think outside of the box in order to make a difference, what kind of difference could we make?
Remember that these two women, two U.S.O. tour girls, have saved 6+ million children. They used their Hollywood voices and garnered huge support and funds from the entertainment community. They worked diligently to effect change and even attracted the attention of Nancy Reagan when she was First Lady of California. At her urging, Sara and Yvonne turned their attention to “America’s
n of
best kept secret” of child abuse and all the ways they could help countless innocent victims.
M
Childhelp now has a hotline, residential treatment centers and advocacy centers that provide insight into “best practices” related to child abuse investigation and treatment methods. Two women, a lifelong friendship and a legacy of saving millions of children. There is a lesson here for all of us. •
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline:
1-800-4-A-CHILD
To find out more about Childhelp or to contribute please visit:
www.childhelp.org
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Yvonne & S ara taking time to play
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