THE CROWD:

New Year’s Day is for mostly football, parades, too much food and drink and a chance to rest and recover from the night before. It is also a day of considerable optimism when the all-American spirit dictates a look ahead at 2009, and despite economic challenges, hope still trumps despair. That is the scenario for many, not all.

In Beaumont, about 90 minutes from Newport Beach is a group home for abandoned and abused children. It is run by an organization known as Childhelp USA, and in addition to the Beaumont residence, the organization operates homes in other parts of America as well as interfacing with regional government agencies placing youth in both foster and other private and public care facilities.

The Childhelp home in Beaumont is a modern facility, thanks to countless donors giving generously over some 50 years since the nonprofit was established by Yvonne Fedderson and Sara O’Meara Sigholtz shortly after the Korean War.

A recent major bequest by the late entertainer Merv Griffin, a longtime friend of Childhelp, further enhances the strength of the organization in its ability to continue assisting disadvantaged youth.

But the picture is not so hopeful, so joyful for far too many young people who live in the Beaumont home or in foster situations all over Southern California.

“The stories of some of these children’s lives are more violent than ever,” confided actress Joyce Bulifant, a Childhelp board member and activist who helped to stage a recent Christmas show at the facility. “It is almost impossible for most people to comprehend the nature of abuse suffered,” she said adding, “And in many cases it is at the hands of parents who are themselves suffering, out of control and desperate.”

Founders O’Meara and Fedderson started what has become a lifelong commitment returning from the Korean War as entertainers. They were horrified by the abandonment of war orphans, many of whom were fathered by American GIs and simply left behind. Childhelp began as an agency to place and care for orphans and over five decades has become a refuge for abused children.

“Drugs, alcohol abuse, economic conditions and major changes in family roles as well as educational, social and religious values and standards have produced generations of children in peril,” added Bulifant who joined other celebs including John Stamos, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and many others who turn out year after year to brighten the holidays for the children.

In Newport Beach, Childhelp has been at the forefront of the local children’s relief agencies. There is a large and dedicated contingent led by men and women who raise money, event after event in an effort to save and to change lives. Recently, Dale San Filippo, one of those long-standing involved citizens, chaired Through The Eyes Of A Child, the local holiday luncheon and Christmas boutique that raised funds for the Beaumont home as well as local Orange County needs.

The event unfolded at The Hyatt Regency Hotel, Irvine, attracting a large crowd filled with holiday joy but also mindful of the serious purpose which brought them together.

While we enjoy the comfort of our homes on this New Year’s day there are too many children who worry they may not have a home, food, or future. Protecting these children is no longer just a task of placement. Many are savagely beaten, and emotionally and sexually abused. Along with children who are raised in safe and loving homes, these children too are the future of America and the world.

On this New Year’s day hold a thought for those who are truly afraid of the future, children and adult alike. Perhaps you will endeavor to do more to help in 2009, adding such a promise to your resolution list.

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