BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumner M. Redstone today announced a second grant of $500,000 to the Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF), a non-profit program that provides a wide range of critical health and educational services to impoverished and abused children in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh.  This most recent gift brings Mr. Redstone's total commitment to CCF to $1 million.

Mr. Redstone's initial $500,000 grant in 2007 established CCF's child rescue center, now a thriving community facility providing the most at-risk children with education, health care, nutrition and play area, all within a secure environment.  The center cares for children of all ages, from newborns in the CCF Nursery program and three- to six-year-olds in its daycare, to those in their teens wanting the opportunity to study.  A maternal care program ensures that each child enters the world as healthy as possible and into a family that understands childcare, nutrition and basic child development.  The additional $500,000 grant from Mr. Redstone will help fund the continued operations of the center.

Mr. Redstone said, "The Cambodian Children's Fund is bringing lifesaving services to innocent children who live in a world of poverty, sickness and ignorance.  In 2007, I was pleased to establish a rescue center that brought critical services to thousands of young lives.  With this additional funding, the CCF can grow their programs to serve a wider range of children and to help sustain its operations for the long term.   Through the consistency and expansion of its health care and education services, the CCF can provide hope and a path to a new life for thousands of young lives.

"I hope this gift will encourage others to join me in supporting the amazing work of the Cambodian Children's Fund." 

Scott Neeson, the founder and executive director of CCF, said,  "Mr. Redstone has been so generous in helping the CCF establish a sustainable program that lifts up the neediest and most vulnerable.   His latest donation allows CCF to provide long term care to those who have come to rely on our services.  On any given day, our center provides food and health care to over 300 of the country's most vulnerable population. As the demand on our services has increased, so have the costs.  It is only through Mr. Redstone's remarkable gift that we can ensure that each child receives the consistency of care that they deserve."  

The Cambodian Children's Fund was founded in 2004 by Mr. Neeson to aid the most impoverished of Cambodia's children.  The CCF's Phnom Penh facility was initially established as a safe house for Cambodia's orphaned, abandoned or abused children, providing secure shelter and nutritional meals within a caring environment.  Since then, the CCF has grown to include full education, medical care, vocational training and community outreach services for Cambodia's most impoverished children and their families.  With six facilities now operating, CCF's services include maternal care, clean water, a food program, a nursery for the most at-risk newborns and infants, a day care center, a garment training facility and a bakery.  CCF also provides a comprehensive educational program for over 900 children, including local language reading and writing, multi-level English classes, social studies and math.

More information on the Cambodian Children's Fund can be found at: http://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/

SOURCE Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation