MSC archived stories - March 2, 2019
As we know the sponsorship does not demand us to write, send special needs or extra gifts to our children, but being a "silent" sponsor does your monthly contribution bring real value (for money) – especially if you live outside the USA, you or CI don't even get tax benefits of your charitable donation? Is this because most sponsors can't afford anymore than the monthly fee to sponsor a child or trust CI so much that they do not feel needing to play an active role in their sponsored child(ren)'s lives to have an impact?
The sponsorship rewards both sponsor and the child through exchange of letters. Then we have social media platforms, like MSC to share our experiences with fellow sponsors – all can be done for free and bring closer understanding of each other and building friendships for life!
But above all sponsorship motivates your child to attend their community center more often not only for letter reading/writing but also encourages them to participate in many activities/programs CI has to offer. And if you want to be little more awesome any extra treats you give will reward you by seen your child writing you back!
This is the insurance policy you and I provide them to have a safe haven to grow healthy, educated, empowered and employed.
barbmc
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. Sponsorship is the most important gift of all. Even if a sponsor only does this for a tax deduction ,there are so many other important causes and worthy charities they could have chosen to donate to. One important life changing benefit you didn't mention is that all sponsored children have access to good doctors, dentists, and modern medical care. If they get sick or injured they get the medicine and treatment they need. Many sponsored children would never be able to see a doctor if weren't for CI. They provide a lot of programs for both children and parents that stress preventive care too.
March 3, 2019
True, sponsorship is the most important thing. I sponsor older children that have all written letters for many years and never have heard back from their sponsors prior to me. Most people don't sponsor for tax deduction but sponsor because they care. I just think most just don't understand how much hearing from their sponsor means to the children and it is something they can do for free. Some people care but don't want to get too attached or involved. It is hard to understand but in visiting and talking with these families they are appreciative of what they receive because of all that the centers provide for them. They also know that for every child in the program there are many more that are not in the program that would like to be in the program. They feel truly blesses. It is the basic sponsorship that makes everything CI provides possible.
ReplyDeleteMarch 3, 2019
Too true. Funny story: during my annual performance review at work last Nov, I was gabbing with one of the owners/my bosses about our kids (we had just sent out our Pasko Packages with the custom jerseys). She told me that she sponsored a child herself... and it was through CI! The girl is in Guatemala. She said, though: "I never write her... I don't know what to say. Hmm... maybe I should?" So I think a lot of sponsors may just feel that way, but still want their donation to do well for kids to have access to these services.
ReplyDeleteMarch 4, 2019
BennyNJun, I hope you told your boss about how great it is to develop a relationship with your sponsored child through letters. Maybe she'll rethink her decision not to write her child.
ReplyDeleteMarch 4, 2019
I have ran into the same situation. Some sponsors feel guilty for not writing but don't know what to write. To date nobody has refused assistance in drafting letters for them to review and send. These are people I know so I know what is happening in their lives and can read the sponsor child's letter and draft an appropriate response from their sponsors perspective. Some are now talking about visiting their sponsor children. It seems to help break the ice in communications.
ReplyDeleteMarch 5, 2019
I wrote to Jenifer so many times last month because the amount of space in each page is not enough to cover everything that I want to talk about. The amount of letter(s) I write each month and so it adds to the pile of growing letters waiting to be translated which is not good. Hopefully, someday there will be some kind of translator on computers other than Google Translator which I hope will work much faster.
ReplyDeleteMarch 6, 2019
Thanks for sharing your beautiful thoughts! I wanted to point out the tangible impact your letters will have on them and the importance of having a dialogue with the child through your writing – I usually give 3 months for them to respond before write again. 11wks later, this week I received a response from Rukhsar to my Welcome Letter (both added to My Media).
ReplyDeleteMarch 8, 2019
I can understand why some people don't write or write much. I used to think of how busy and difficult their lives must be and did they really have the time to receive all of these letters and have to reply? I wondered if my first visit would be an imposition - the "rich" (to them) white lady coming to take them away from work and school for the day, so I at least went during a school break. I never considered those things again after the first visit - it was clear from the careful storage of photos and letters that they were treasured items. A parent asked if I could sponsor her other daughter (already sponsored) because she was sad her sister had contact with me, but her sponsor didn't write to her. Of course, the benefits of sponsorship are better than nothing, so we definitely don't want to guilt non-writing sponsors and make them feel like they should quit and let the child find a writing sponsor. As for EGs, I don't judge anyone who can't send them - I couldn't at one point in my life and could barely afford to sponsor, but I saw the value in giving basic educational supplies and medical care still
ReplyDeleteMarch 11, 2019