All About Letters

This post is all about writing letters to your sponsored child. Being a sponsor isn’t just about the financial commitment that you’ve made, but it’s so much more than that. Certainly, the benefits that your sponsorship funds provide to your child go a long way in helping to meet the physical needs of that child. But, those children have other needs that you can meet by writing letters on a regular basis.

It’s all about building a relationship with your sponsored child, and that is an essential part of being a sponsor. By writing your child regularly, you’re telling that child that they are loved and they’re important to you. You’re sharing your faith, and you may be the only person (besides the project workers) who do that! You can pray for your child and let them know that you’re praying for them.

Here is a quick guide to writing letters to your sponsored child. All of this information can be found on Compassion’s website as well as many other blogs from Compassion sponsors and advocates.

How can I write to my sponsored child?

There are two ways to write to your sponsored child: letter mail and online. For letter mail, you can write a letter using the stationary that Compassion provides on their website, or you can use your own stationary. If you use your own, just remember to leave space (half of each page) for translation. You’ll need to include your sponsor number, your child’s name and their i.d. number as well.

To write your child using Compassion’s online letter writing tool, just log in to your account at the website. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a link that says “Write Your Child”. They provide several very nice templates for you to choose from. They even have ones for birthday, Christmas, soccer balls, flowers, and other nice designs. You’ll choose the template, write your letter, and click ‘send’. You’ll also have the opportunity to upload a photo to include on your letter! Your letter is then processed, logged in, printed in color and sent off to be delivered to the field office, your child’s project, and ultimately, your sponsored child. All of this takes times, but it’s so worth it!

If you send your letters by postal mail, here is the address:

Compassion International

Child Correspondence Dept

Colorado Springs, CO 80997-0004

How often should I write? What should I say?

Writing once each month is a good guideline to follow. Some sponsors write twice each month and a few even write once a week. That could be too often, depending on the age of your sponsored child. I try to write once a month. Even if your schedule only permits you to write every other month, that’s still better than not writing at all. And, of course, with the new online writing tool at Compassion’s website, it’s even easier to type out a quick note and send it off. Your child wants to hear from you and your letters are so very important to them! When I open up my mailbox and see that I’ve received a letter from my sponsored child, it feels like Christmas to me! I get so excited and just cannot wait to open it up and hear about their lives, what they’ve been doing, and see the precious pictures that they draw for me. What a blessing!

How long does it take for my child to receive my letter?

It varies from one country to the next, but for most letters, it takes anywhere from 1-3 months to travel from your hands to the hands of your child. And, of course, it takes just as long for your child’s letters to reach you. The Global Ministry Center in Colorado processes thousands of letters each month. That’s quite a lot of letters! They check each letter that comes through to make sure that all information (sponsor number, child name, child i.d. number) is on the letter. They want to make sure that your letter reaches your specific child.

The letters can also be held up in customs in the other countries. Once the letters reach the field office and are translated, they’re sorted by project and then they start traveling to each project. This can take quite some time. In some countries, the letters must travel by donkey or bikes, sometimes they are even walked to the project, depending on how remote the place is. Remember also that the children may want to write you a letter right back, but they have to wait until the project workers have time to help them with it. Some projects have letter writing days, while others write when they can.

Why is it important to write my child?

For most sponsored children, they have to deal with poverty, sometimes a bad family situation, still others may have no family at all. Our letters tell our children that they’re important to someone, that we care, we love them, we want to encourage them, they matter!

Many children who hear from their sponsors regularly have more confidence in themselves and are inspired to work hard, study hard in school, and make a better life for themselves as they grow older.

I read a blog post one time that talked about how so many children sit through the mail call at their project, with their name never being called to receive a letter. How heart-breaking! And, if you can only write once each month, that will stop those tears from falling down a sweet face who deserves so much more.

Can I send gifts to my child? Are there other things I can send?

Because of regulations from various countries, we can send only those items that are considered to be (or “classified as”) a document, and fall within certain restrictions that Compassion has set up. All items must be of paper, with few exceptions. Put your creative hats on, though, because I recently sent a paper bookmark to our little Beatriz in Brazil, but I laminated it and as long as you follow the guidelines closely, some things like this will go through. Compassion has information listed on their website and especially their blog about sending items other than letters.

I also encourage you to visit the blogs of other sponsors and advocates. That’s how I found so many great ideas. One blog that I visit regularly is Blogging from the Boonies (www.bloggingfromtheboonies.com).  This blog is full of great information about everything related to Compassion. You can also visit Compassion’s website www.compassion.com as a great resource.

I don’t have time to write or I’m just not into it. Is there a solution for this? 

If you just don’t have the time to write, or you just don’t like to write, then Compassion has a solution! If you sponsor a child, you can contact the Compassion office and ask that they assign a “Correspondent Sponsor” to your child. We only sponsor one child financially, but I’m correspondent sponsor to two others at the moment. I love writing letters to these children! Keep in mind that Compassion cannot assign your child a correspondent sponsor unless you contact them and request it. So, if you do sponsor a child but you aren’t writing to that child, please call Compassion today and ask for a correspondent sponsor!

If you would like to become a correspondent sponsor yourself, just call Compassion and ask to be put on the waiting list. It’s that simple! Recently, they created new guidelines and I think they’ve limited the number of children you can write to in this manner, but if you call them, they’ll be happy to fill you in on the details.

I still have questions. How can I find out more information?

Compassion International phone operators are very helpful and would love to answer any questions you may have about letter writing or anything else related to sponsoring a child. There are several ways to contact them. Just go to the Compassion website, www.compassion.com and choose the most convenient way for you.

I plan to update this information as time goes on and I hope it’s been helpful to you. This is a work in progress, so look for much more information in the future!

In His grace,

Sharon