Be a sponsor for a child in poverty

sponsor a child and MAKE THIS YEAR UNFORGETTABLE

You can make this birthday unforgettable for a child in poverty. Be a sponsor and make it a truly happy birthday for one special child. The gift of your sponsorship gives your child even more reason to celebrate on their big day!

Learn more about how sponsorship helps below. Use the search features to find your special child or view our list of children waiting.

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Details

Esther

6 years old Waiting 85 days Zambia
2/1/2017
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Details

Araceli Monserrat

12 years old Waiting 54 days Mexico
2/11/2010
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Details

Patricia

15 years old Waiting 45 days Philippines
2/24/2007

Become a child sponsor today!

Child sponsorship connects two people — a sponsor with a generous heart and a child living in poverty.

From toddlerhood to young adulthood, our child sponsorship program equips kids with crucial life and job skills to break the cycle of poverty for good.

Your $39 monthly gift supports

1. A safe place, like 67+ community centers around the world
2. A caring team of local staff and volunteers
3. A path out of poverty through life-changing programs and services

More about child sponsorship:

+ When you sponsor, what do you receive? Click to find out.

When you sponsor, we'll send you more info about your child, including a photo and a quick-start guide to child sponsorship. You'll also:

Receive photos and updates about your child on a regular basis.
Receive letters from your child, and many letters will contain pictures drawn by your child.
Have access to MyCI, your online account where you can view photos of your child, learn more about him or her, read and write letters and cards, manage your giving, and join our online community of sponsors.
Be able to visit your child and tour our amazing community centers
Subscribe to receive emails and our Journeys magazine to see your impact in action.

+ Need to make a change? We can help.

You can make changes to your monthly giving anytime. Please contact our Care Team to adjust, delay or cancel. And because we've made a commitment that we'll be a part of our kids' lives until they graduate, your sponsored child will continue to receive benefits from the program, and we will work to find a new sponsor as soon as possible.

How Child Sponsorship Works

What does my child receive?

Access to life-changing benefits through our innovative community centers, such as medical and dental care, empowerment initiatives and education programs focused on giving children the support and tools they need to be healthy, stay in school, graduate and create a lasting change in their community. (Our U.S. children are served through the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.)
Support from our dedicated staff and volunteers who are embedded in the community and committed to helping your child succeed.
A personal connection with someone who cares (you!) and the invaluable knowledge that they are special and loved.
A chance for a better life free from poverty.

What can I expect as a sponsor?

A quick-start guide to child sponsorship along with more info about your child including a photo.
Photos and updates about your child on a regular basis.
Letters from your child, many of which contain hand-drawn pictures.
Access to MyCI, your online account, where you can view photos and learn more about your child, read and write letters, manage your giving, and connect with other sponsors.
See your impact in action through updates and monthly emails. And the option to visit your child and tour our life-changing community centers.
A unique and rewarding opportunity to make a difference.

Sponsorship continues providing life-changing help to your child

Your support is especially critical right now. Disadvantaged families around the world are trying to recover from the economic and emotional toll caused by the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Due to sporadic closures from spiking infection rates in some of the areas we serve, as well as other related factors, your sponsorship experience may begin a bit differently than it normally would.

Read about some of the changes you can expect

What changes should I expect to the sponsorship experience due to the coronavirus?

Photos – as a sponsor, you receive a photo of your child each year, which you will still receive in your welcome kit. However, due to occasional shutdowns and other ongoing interruptions and shortages beyond our control, a more recent photo of your child may be delayed. We continually assess our processes and adjust so we can provide sponsors with the latest possible updates.
Letters – as a sponsor, you can expect to receive a welcome letter, and then one to two letters from your child each year. But we cannot guarantee that communities – or that all community centers – will not experience occasional shutdowns. For the health of children, parents, and staff, we will only collect letters when it is safe to do so. Significant delays of letters, including the welcome letter you would normally receive, are still possible. We appreciate your patience!
Your letters – we encourage sponsors to write to their children, but for now, there still could be interruptions in delivering letters to sponsored children. Currently, the only letters we can process are ones written through MyCI. When you write a letter through MyCI, your letter will be transferred electronically to your child’s field office. If your child’s family has a phone, a staff member will either digitally forward it to your child’s family or call and read it to them.

Note: If the family is not able to communicate digitally, we will try to find a way to deliver it and keep the lines of communication open whenever possible. The use of digital communications enables agency staff to get your messages to families much more quickly, and vice-versa. There is also a cost-saving feature with virtual letters. Families save time and money (transportation to the center, taking time off from work or school to retrieve letters, etc.) and our staff processing time is significantly reduced by digital communications.

Sponsorship support is so important right now. It’s been a difficult time for everyone and finding a new friend can be a great source of hope and confidence, especially for children in poverty.

FAQs about Sponsorship

Where can I sponsor a child?

Children International is proud to support children, families and communities in India, the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador, Zambia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States.

How much of my $39 monthly gift actually goes to my sponsored child?

81% of Children International’s total operating expenses fund programs for children and youth. So, the majority of your donation dollars go toward exactly what you intended — supporting children in poverty.

How long will my sponsorship last?

Child sponsorship is a voluntary, ongoing contribution you can cancel at anytime — you’re in charge of how long you sponsor (and how many kids you sponsor).

What if I need to make a change to my sponsorship?

You can make changes to your monthly giving anytime. Please contact our Care Team to adjust, delay, or cancel. And because of our on-going commitment to our children from the time of sponsorship through graduation, your child will continue to receive benefits from the program, and we will work to find them another sponsor as soon as possible.

Who is Children International?

Children International is a global humanitarian organization connecting people in the fight to end poverty for good. Headquartered in Kansas City, we work in 10 countries, serving 200,000 children to create lasting change in their lives. We believe ending poverty starts with children, so we focus on programs and efforts for children and youth during the critical years. We build community centers, send volunteers to staff those centers, create educational and healthcare programs, and fund empowerment initiatives to help break the cycle of generational poverty.

I received a special code from a concert recently. How can I use that code to start sponsoring?

If you recently attended a concert and received a child packet, you were provided with a code that you can use to begin sponsoring that child. Please click here to go to children.org/start and enter your code.