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Sponsorship FAQs

Child sponsorship

Please visit our secure online credit card update form to update your payment information. 

As a sponsor, you provide the critical essentials for a child: food, clothing, shelter and medical care. However, your gift does so much more—ensuring that a child grows up in a family surrounded by a loving caregiver and siblings. Children living in our children’s villages benefit from 75 years of our expertise caring for vulnerable children, including trauma support for children coming from difficult circumstances. Your sponsored child also receives a quality education and a tailored development plan so they can reach their full potential. 

Additionally, your sponsorship gift strengthens the child’s greater community. We have devoted decades to building lasting relationships with children, families and communities around the world. SOS Children’s Villages schools and medical clinics service children in our families as well as other children and families in the area. Additionally, vocational programs teach job skills to children, youth and adults from our children’s villages and the surrounding community so they can earn an income and eventually become self-reliant. 

You are welcome to send a letter to your sponsored child. If you are interested in sending a scanned letter, card, photo or email to your sponsored child, you can email our sponsorship team at sponsors@sos-usa.org and they will pass along the letter to our international colleagues, who will deliver your letter to your sponsored child.

While you may invite your sponsored child to write back, please understand that the ability to respond may be limited due to his or her age, education level or personal comfort level.

Please note: when sending photos or letters to a religiously or socially conservative country, the subjects should be modest.

SOS Children’s Villages advises against sending physical gifts as, sadly, they don’t always arrive at the intended destination. 

However, many sponsors choose to give an additional, special monetary gift to their sponsored child for an occasion such as their birthday or the holiday season. These monetary gifts are deposited into an independence fund for your sponsored child and held in a savings account until they transition to young adulthood. After leaving the care of the children’s village, they might use these funds to continue their education, start a small business, purchase a home or rent an apartment. It’s a wonderful way to contribute to your sponsored child’s future!

To give a special gift online via credit card, visit our special gift webpage. If you are interested in giving a special gift by check, please make it out to SOS Children’s Villages USA, Attn: Sponsorship Team and include your sponsored child’s name or ID number in the memo. 

Address the check to:
1620 I Street NW, Suite 220
Washington, DC 20006

Yes, we encourage visits! We have recently implemented new visit policies and guidelines to ensure child safeguarding in our villages. Please follow these regulations when planning a visit:

  1. All visit requests must be made through the SOS Children Villages location you sponsor through. Since you sponsor through SOS Children’s Villages USA, you must reach out to us to help you with your request. (Please do not directly contact the village you wish to visit.)
  2. Contact SOS Children’s Villages USA (sponsors@sos-usa.org or 1 (888) 767-4543) 2-4 months prior to the visit so that staff have the time to properly prepare for the visit. We’ll guide you through this preparation process.
  3. Background checks are required for all visitors who want to visit a village.
  4. Read our four safeguarding policies and sign the visitor’s guide.
  5. Conduct a pre-visit phone/Zoom call with the Village Focal Point staff member at the children’s village you wish to visit to answer any questions or clarify our child safeguarding policies.
  6. Sponsors can only visit a village for which they are currently a sponsor.
  7. Villages have the right to decline visitors who have not properly organized the visit through these guidelines.

Children leave the care of SOS Children’s Villages for a variety of reasons. When possible, SOS Children’s Villages works with local authorities to reunite children with their families, if and when that is in the best interest of the child. However, most children will remain in our care until they are between the ages of 18-23, in accordance with both their individual development and the social and cultural norms of their community. 

We will notify you immediately if your sponsored child leaves the care of SOS Children’s Villages. At that time, for your convenience and so there’s no gap in the care you provide, we will match you with another child in need so you can begin your sponsorship journey with them. Often, the new sponsored child is within the same village.

Yes, you can share the gift of sponsorship! Contact us at sponsors@sos-usa.org or 1 (888) 767-4543 to sign up for a gifted sponsorship. Your gift recipient will receive a mailed welcome package and twice-yearly updates about their sponsored child or village.

After signing up to sponsor a child, you will receive a mailed welcome package within 2-3 weeks containing your first photo of your sponsored child, details about their background and interests, information about their life in the children’s village and stories about how we help children and families in their country.

Each year, we’ll mail you two updates about your sponsored child, including a new photo to see how they are growing and a progress report so you can learn how you’re helping them thrive.

 

You are a key stakeholder in ensuring that sensitive information about your sponsored child is not shared with third parties outside of your family and friends. We kindly ask that you do not post pictures or information about your sponsored child on social media or anywhere else online. 

Our work to support children and families is long-term. For this reason, your sponsorship will continue until you contact us to end your support.

Children may also leave the care of SOS Children’s Villages for a variety of reasons. When possible and in the best interest of the child, SOS Children’s Villages works with local authorities to reunite children with their families. However, most children will remain in our care until they are between the ages of 18-23, in accordance with both their individual development and the social and cultural norms of their community.

We will notify you immediately if your sponsored child leaves the care of SOS Children’s Villages. At that time, for your convenience and so there’s no gap in the care you provide, we will match you with another child in need so you can begin your sponsorship journey with them. Often, the new sponsored child is within the same village.

 

Village sponsorship

As a village sponsor, you fulfill essential needs for the children you support, including food, clothing, shelter and medical care. However, your gift does so much more—ensuring that all of the children in your sponsored village grow up in nurturing families surrounded by loving caregivers and siblings. Children living in our children’s villages benefit from 75 years of our expertise caring for vulnerable children, including trauma support for children coming from difficult circumstances. The children in your sponsored village also receive quality education and a tailored development plan so they can reach their full potential.

Additionally, your sponsorship gifts strengthen the child’s greater community. We have devoted decades to building lasting relationships with children, families and communities around the world. SOS Children’s Villages schools and medical clinics service children in our families as well as other children and families in the area. Additionally, vocational programs teach job skills to children, youth and adults from our children’s villages and the surrounding community so they can earn an income and eventually become self-reliant. 

After signing up to sponsor a village, you will receive a mailed welcome package within 2-3 weeks containing information about your sponsored village, details about the lives of the children who live there, how we help children and families in that country and your first photo of the village. Each year, we’ll mail you two updates about how the children in the village are thriving.

Yes, we encourage visits! We have recently implemented new visit policies and guidelines to ensure child safeguarding in our villages. Please follow these regulations when planning a visit:

  1. All visit requests must be made through the SOS Children Villages location you sponsor through. Since you sponsor through SOS Children’s Villages USA, you must reach out to us to help you with your request. (Please do not directly contact the village you wish to visit.)
  2. Contact SOS Children’s Villages USA (sponsors@sos-usa.org or 1 (888) 767-4543) 2-4 months prior to the visit so that staff have the time to properly prepare for the visit. We’ll guide you through this preparation process.
  3. Background checks are required for all visitors who want to visit a village.
  4. Read our four safeguarding policies and sign the visitor’s guide.
  5. Conduct a pre-visit phone/Zoom call with the Village Focal Point staff member at the children’s village you wish to visit to answer any questions or clarify our child safeguarding policies.
  6. Sponsors can only visit a village for which they are currently a sponsor.
  7. Villages have the right to decline visitors that have not properly organized the visit through these guidelines.

For additional information:

Please contact us at sponsors@sos-usa.org or 1 (888) 767-4543.

 

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