The April 2006 Charity of the Month is Childhelp and the National Day of Hope, April 5th, 2006. They were chosen to highlight Child Abuse Prevention Month.

In the United States, 4 children die as a result of child abuse each day and there are over 3 million reports of child abuse annually.

Childhelp directly serves abused and neglected children through the National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD®; and a number of other programs.

Overview
Childhelp, one of the oldest and largest national nonprofits dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, believes it is important to create hope for all children who have suffered abuse and neglect. To that end, it has established the first Wednesday of each April as the Childhelp USA National Day of Hope®, part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Childhelp asks that 1) all Americans should keep the victims of child abuse and neglect in their thoughts and prayers; 2) all Americans should seek to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect and to give victimized children hope for the future; and 3) the faith community, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers across America should recommit themselves and mobilize their resources to assist abused and neglected children.

Why a National Day of Hope?
The fact that child abuse is against the law in every state is simply not enough. Everyone must play a role if we are to change these tragic, national statistics

• More than three children die each day as a result of abuse in the home.

• In the United States, approximately three million child abuse reports are made each year—on average, one report every ten seconds.

• The actual incidence of abuse and neglect is estimated to be three times greater than the number reported to authorities.

Get Involved
For additional information about the National Day of Hope®, please send an email to nationaldayofhope@childhelpusa.org.