CDF works closely with national religious leaders and organizations, state and regional bodies, and local congregations, leaders, and lay people. Religious people and organizations — with millions of members, deep roots in communities across the country, a history of caring for children, and moral authority — are indispensable to building a successful movement for children.

Join the faithful members of CDF's movement for children—as an individual or as a representative of a religious organization!

National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Celebration

Sponsored by Children's Defense Fund, the National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Celebration is a way for faith communities to celebrate children as sacred gifts, and provides the opportunity for houses of worship to renew and live out their moral responsibility to care, protect and advocate for all children.

Prime your faith community to make a difference for children all year long. Join with the thousands of faith communities that are planning for the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths® weekend, October 19 – 21, 2012. The Children's Sabbaths brings together Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Bahá'í communities, as well as multi-faith coalitions that will lift up children in need and answer their own faith tradition’s call to pursue justice, mercy, and compassion. The Children’s Sabbaths is one more way to organize around the budget battles that are placing our children directly in harm’s way.

Download last year’s Children’s Sabbaths resource manual, A Multi-faith Resource for Year Round Child Advocacy, which provides all you need for planning, educational, service of worship and advocacy in your House of Worship. Please visit this page for the new 2012 manual, which will be available later this year.

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute

The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry provides five days of spiritual renewal, continuing education, inter-generational movement-building workshops, and networking as Christians from across the denominational spectrum explore how their Christian faith calls them into ministries of child advocacy and guides, shapes, and sustains them in their work with and for children. Learn more about the Proctor Institute.

Joshua & Deborah Generation Program

This track  of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute trains the next generation of religious leaders to continue the mission of building the blessed community through the vocations of ministry and child advocacy. The religious leaders of this generation are encouraged to continue the movement for children while implementing unique and genuine leadership styles just as Joshua led the Israelites to the Promised Land and Deborah later restored order in the land for the Israelites. Joshua and Deborah Program information.