Christian Children’s Fund’s 70th year has been one of reflection on many years of service to deprived, excluded and vulnerable children and youth around the world. It also has been a year of looking at what the future holds.
CCF was founded in 1938 by a Presbyterian minister who launched an appeal from Richmond, Va., for funds to help feed and house children orphaned in the Sino-Japanese war. He enabled individual donors to send money to “sponsor” an orphaned child in China. Money was used to support programs that could supply food, shelter and education to children.
What started as an emergency relief fund for Chinese children has grown into an international organization that now works on five continents and in 31 countries. CCF now reaches approximately 15.2 million children and family members every year. But CCF isn’t doing it alone.
CCF is a member of ChildFund Alliance, a family of 12 organizations that provide development and humanitarian assistance to children and families in 55 countries around the globe. CCF is a founding member of the Alliance, which was formed in 2002.
ChildFund Alliance is a rich blend of organizations modeled after CCF to assist children. In some cases, the organizations reflect the transformation from beneficiaries to humanitarian agencies. ChildFund Alliance members in Japan, Taiwan and Korea began as CCF-funded homes assisting war orphans and have evolved into revered social service providers in their countries.
Alliance members are committed to improving the lives of children and families, striving to eradicate the root causes and effects of poverty on children by implementing meaningful, sustainable solutions. The Alliance has also improved capabilities for coordinated emergency responses.
Alliance members work closely with communities on health care and sanitation; access to safe, clean water; nutrition; early childhood development; education; income generation for children; and psycho-social services for children affected by war or natural disasters. Alliance members bring to bear more than $550 million annually to fund these critical services worldwide.
ChildFund Alliance members are accredited ensuring that industry “best practices” are followed. The Alliance also provides a mechanism for close coordination of humanitarian response during emergencies and collaboration on monitoring and evaluating impact.
ChildFund Alliance members are all independent organizations who are governed by their own Boards of Directors. Including CCF, Alliance members are: Barnfonden (Sweden), Christian Children’s Fund of Canada, BORNEfonden (Denmark), ChildFund Ireland, ChildFund Australia, ChildFund Japan, CCF Kinderhilfswerk (Germany), ChildFund Korea, ChildFund New Zealand, Taiwan Fund for Children and Families and Un Enfant Par La Main (France).