You’ve taken time to write your sponsored child a letter, sharing the latest news from your family, asking how they are doing in school, and ultimately letting them know you’re praying for them daily. You seal the envelope and place it in the mailbox, hoping your sponsored child is as excited to receive it as you were to write it (which I assure you they are).
But what happens next? Have you ever wondered what happens with your letter after you’ve placed it in the mail?
We believe that corresponding with your sponsored child makes a huge difference both in your child’s life and in your own. That’s why we think the journey your letter takes to reach your child is an important one.
- Your letter reaches our World Help office in Forest, VA.
Most likely, your letter passes through several post offices before it reaches our office in Forest, Virginia. Upon arrival, our gift processing team sorts through all the incoming mail to ensure our Child Sponsorship Department receives each letter and package from sponsors.
- Your letter is processed to be delivered to your sponsored child’s program.
Laura Cole has been working in our Child Sponsorship Department for more than five years now as our Correspondence Coordinator and knows how important these letters are to you and your child. Working with staff and volunteers on correspondence, she is dedicated to ensuring every child receives their letters and packages. As the team organizes all the correspondence received each day, Laura distributes them into the appropriate bin for each sponsored child’s program. The small details like your child’s sponsorship ID and your account number helps the team process the mail more efficiently.
“It might seem like a small thing, but with processing over 37,000 pieces of correspondence between sponsor and child each year, the little things add up,” Laura said. “Quicker processing means being able to ship correspondence in a more timely manner.”
Can you believe that you as sponsors send more than 37,000 letters and packages to and from children worldwide each year? That’s incredible! Imagine all the smiling faces as they receive your notes, photos, and gifts.
- Letters are mailed or personally delivered by World Help staff around the world.
After the correspondence is processed, Laura places them into large boxes to be mailed to your child. Once the boxes leave World Help, they travel all around the globe until they arrive at the appropriate country and are then closely examined by customs officials before forwarding on to our partners.
Many times, if World Help has a trip planned to a specific country where we have sponsorship programs, we will personally take the correspondence with us. Duffle bags are filled to the brim with your letters and packages and taken on flights to the partner ministry. Upon arrival, the World Help staff passing out these special items to hundreds of excited boys and girls waiting eagerly for that special something from their sponsor—you!
- Correspondence is delivered to your sponsored child.
After your letter is given to your sponsored child, they read your words over and over again. In countries where translation is needed, or for those who are too young to read, local volunteers or program staff spend hours translating your letters so the children can read them, or the letters are read to your child.
“The kids treasure their letters immensely,” said Kraig Cole, Director of Child Sponsorship. “During site visits, it’s not uncommon for me to see sponsors’ letters, postcards, or photos pinned to bulletin boards, taped to bunk beds, or neatly creased in notebooks and Bibles.”
Your words of encouragement and love mean the world to your sponsored children. Thank you for taking time to invest in their lives through correspondence.
Have you written your child this month? Make the commitment to send a letter or small package to your sponsored child soon. Put a smile on a precious child’s face today!
