ChildFund International

ChildFund International, one of the largest child sponsorship charities in the United States, was founded as the Christian Children's Fund in 1938. Presbyterian minister Calvitt Clarke founded the charity to collect and distribute aid to Chinese children orphaned by the second Sino-Japanese War. The scope of the charity has since expanded: it now provides food, healthcare, child and adult educational programs, vocational training, sanitation development, and fresh water in developing areas around the world, in addition to emergency relief in the wake of disasters. The emphasis continues to be on the plight of children.

ChildFund's basic model is that of monthly sponsorship. Instead of sponsoring a specific child, donor funds—made through monthly subscription donations—are pooled and then distributed to an entire community. Children from that community are encouraged to correspond with sponsors, and vice versa. In part, this change from individual child sponsorship reflects the more ambitious approach toward humanitarian efforts, whereby attempts are made to elevate and improve entire communities so that all children will benefit—metaphorically, an attempt to improve a chronic illness, rather than limiting help to the treatment of the symptoms of one illness.

[Page 59]ChildFund has been commended for its program efficiency, particularly in response to disaster relief, and is often recommended by charity watchdog groups as well as paralleled with such larger disaster relief organizations as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. In the 21st century, ChildFund has been among the first charitable responders to disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami, and has devoted resources to the continuing efforts to rebuild, care for children and adults in need, distribute food and other supplies, and raise awareness in the United States and other wealthy nations in order to keep donations coming in. The charity is also well known for its long-running television ad campaigns, many of which have featured actress Sally Struthers, and which more recently have included actor Alan Sader. The campaign's images of starving children in impoverished or disaster-stricken countries approach the iconic.