Sponsorship is life-changing for children living in poverty. When you become a child sponsor, you provide a boy or girl in need with essentials like nutritious food, clothing, medical care, and educational opportunities.
Maybe you’re thinking, “That all sounds great, but how does it work?”
Whether you’re already a sponsor or considering becoming one, you’ll want to keep reading to find out what exactly happens when you make your monthly sponsorship gift.
Step 1: Your gift goes to your child’s program
Your sponsorship provides kids in need with everyday essentials
Every sponsored child is part of a program in their country that is designed to help boys and girls break the cycle of poverty. Every program is slightly different because every community has different needs, but they all fall into one of four categories:
– Children’s homes
– Schools
– Community-based programs
– Family support programs
You can learn more about each of these four types of programs here.
When you give your monthly sponsorship gift, your child doesn’t receive the $35 in cash. Instead, it goes to their program, and the program staff, in coordination with World Help, decide how to most effectively meet your child’s urgent needs that month.
Step 2: The program uses your gift to meet your child’s needs
Your sponsored child’s program makes sure your gift is used responsibly
There are many reasons why your child doesn’t receive a direct cash gift.
Giving cash to someone in an impoverished community can create jealousy among neighbors and even put your child or their family at risk of being robbed. Additionally, we can’t guarantee that a direct cash gift would be used to meet your sponsored child’s immediate needs.
Allowing the program to manage your gift ensures that it is used for essentials like food, medical care, or educational costs. Plus, the staff can use some of the funds to help meet the needs of any kids in the program who are still waiting for sponsors of their own.
The teachers, mentors, and other program staff who work with your sponsored child know them best … so they know their needs too! They can determine exactly where your gifts will be best spent each month whether that’s for new shoes and school uniforms, an annual check-up, or some other important need.
Step 3: Your ongoing support creates a personal connection with your child
Build a personal connection with your sponsored child by sending letters
Even though your sponsored child doesn’t directly receive a check in the mail from you each month, they still know that their needs are being met because of you. When you become a child’s sponsor, you become one of the most special people in their life!
And the bond created through child sponsorship doesn’t have to stop at financial giving.
You can also build a relationship with your sponsored child by writing letters, sending small gifts, mailing cards on special occasions like Christmas or their birthday, and praying for them every day. Your support shows that you believe in them and know they can succeed. And any letters and gifts you send will be some of their most prized possessions.
For a child, knowing someone out there sees and cares about them is priceless.
Click here for more Frequently Asked Questions about child sponsorship. If you’re interested in sponsoring another child or becoming a sponsor for the first time, you can click the button below to learn more.
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