Friday, May 20, 2016

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About...Child Sponsorship

Continuing our series of 'everything you ever wanted to know' posts (we have already covered adopting from New Dayfoster families and the children's names), this one is all about our Child Sponsorship program.

We hear about the 'sponsors' - do you mean the people who give money to New Day Foster Home?

The words 'sponsor', 'supporter' and 'donor' do sometimes get used interchangeably, but the Child Sponsorship program is a special way of financially supporting the work that we do here.  Individuals, groups and organizations can make donations to the foster home, either on a one-off or regular basis, but the Child Sponsorship program is a way of contributing to the costs of caring for a specific child every month.


What does the money get used for?

It gets used to buy food for the children, and clothes, and medical supplies, and preschool supplies...lots of important stuff!  We are blessed to receive many donations, from local groups and from overseas, but there are always additional things that need to be purchased and paid for.  An exciting way that the money gets spent is on the medical exams needed for adoption paperwork!

What about salaries? Does the money go towards employing American staff?

Part of the money raised through the Child Sponsorship Program helps to pay the salaries of our local staff; nannies, medical staff, teachers and management staff.  Employing local workers means that our children get excellent care, and local people get a meaningful, stable job in a good environment.  You can see all our amazing staff on the website. Towards the bottom of the page you may notice a 'Foreign Staff' section; these guys do not get a salary from the Foster Home and are self-funded.  In addition to the foreign staff pictured, many others help the work of New Day Foster Home on a volunteer basis, both onsite and online.


How does it work? Do we get to pick who we sponsor?

New sponsors start by choosing a child from the sponsorship page on our website, which clearly shows the children who are not yet fully sponsored.  Here at New Day Beijing, our new arrivals Isabella B, Cassie and Amelia need sponsors, and some of the other kids do not yet have all of the sponsors required to be considered 'fully sponsored'.  Also, many of the children at New Day South and most of the children at New Day North still need sponsors.  You can choose who you think is the cutest, the one that most moves your heart, the one with the same name as your brother...the choice is yours.

So, if no-one signs up to sponsor a child, what happens?

Don't worry, a child with no sponsors will be cared for just as excellently as a child who is fully sponsored.  The Child Sponsorship Program helps to ensure that we are able to continue caring for all the children.


The big question - how much does it cost?!

Each sponsorship costs $35 per month, and donations can be made on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis.  You can send a check, make a bank transfer or use PayPal.  Donations are tax-deductible in the USA.  

How long do I need to commit to sponsor for?  What happens when the child I'm sponsoring gets adopted?

You can stop the sponsorship at any time, although many decide to continue until the child gets adopted.  We give sponsors the happy news when the child they were sponsoring has been adopted, and offer them the option to transfer their sponsorship to another child, if they would like.


What's in for me?! Besides the joy of knowing that I'm helping a child, of course...

When you sign up to start sponsoring a child, you will get an initial sponsor packet which includes a photograph and information.  Then, every month you'll get monthly email updates about 'your child' (written by their nanny or foster-mama and translated into English), along with a new picture of them. Just by following this blog (and our Facebook, and Instagram news) you can get glimpses of all of the kids and their little personalities, and follow their progress, but the email updates have more details and cute stories!


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