how to sponsor a child in need

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.