If I choose your Individual Sponsorship Option, how do I build a relationship with my chosen child?

If you choose our Individual Sponsorship Option – we encourage you to become personal friends and exchange letters with your sponsored child. It helps to build a special connection between you and your sponsored child that makes our program stand out from large children’s organizations like UNICEF. Your sponsored child will know s/he has a personal sponsor and will wait for your letters and cards! Feel free to write your letters in English – we will translate them into your sponsored child’s native language (Ukrainian or Russian). You may wish to include in your letters a photo of yourself and/or your family, your pets (if any) – your sponsored child would love to see you and yours. Don’t forget to send birthday cards! Your letters give hope, positive emotions and encouragement for your chosen child to live a happier childhood and to do well in school. Please ensure letters and photos are age appropriate.  We remind you to please not share any of your personal information such as your last name and exact address. You can certainly share the state / city where you live. When you get your first response – you may find it surprising or funny – please remember about cultural differences and that some children have never written a letter before.

All your correspondence should be addressed to our Ukraine’s office and must include the first name and ID of your sponsored child (on a separate sheet please). Considering the costs to translate and transport letters, we ask you to send no more than four letters a year. You will get a response to every letter you write!  See the journey of a letter here. We will work hard to deliver your letter within one month and get your sponsored child’s response to you within the next month. Or sooner!