Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : Childhelp USA Tourney to Draw Celebrities

Sharon Batts, 9-year-old vocalist of the song “Dear Mr. Jesus,” will be present as “youth ambassador to Childhelp USA” today at a Newport Beach charity tennis tournament for the Woodland Hills-based child abuse treatment and prevention center.

The song, a favorite radio request, reflects a young child’s confusion and fear about child abuse.

Sixteen Olympic gold medalists, including Edwin Moses and Rafer Johnson, will play at the Newport Beach Tennis Club. TV celebrities Cheryl Ladd and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. will be among the spectators. Tickets, $5 each, are available for matches at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the club. The annual fund-raising event is sponsored by Carillon Importers Ltd.

Childhelp USA began in 1974 in Beaumont as a treatment program for abused children. Now the national organization pays research money to universities in areas such as anger control and the relationship between stress and abuse.

The nonprofit group received more than 120,000 calls last year on its national hot line for child abuse, 1-800-4-A-CHILD. The group houses 74 severely abused children at its Childhelp Village in Beaumont, Riverside County.