Sponsor Child Education: What You Need To Know To Make A Difference

Here at the Hearts Company, we’re proud to run a nonprofit organization that services some of the most vulnerable children in South East Asia.

With over 58 million children around the world without access to basic primary school, we believe sponsoring a child’s schooling is one of the most useful ways to fight poverty and bring peace and prosperity to at-risk families and communities.  

Child sponsorship programs like ours provide supplies, technology, and support to children in need - while teaching them skills which will allow them to compete in the global economy. 

Whether you currently sponsor a child, or would like to sponsor a child in the future, you may have questions about the child sponsorship process.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of sponsoring a child’s education. We’ll equip you with the tools, resources, and information you need to make an informed decision should you choose to sponsor a child.

What Is Child Sponsorship?

Child sponsorship is a fundraising method that connects children with donors. Donors pay a sum of money that covers living expenses for a sponsored child. 

There are many types of sponsorship available. Some programs provide kids with nutritious food and shelter, others offer clean drinking water and health care. For this article, we’ll focus on programs that sponsor a child’s schooling. 

In this form of child sponsorship, donors pay for a vulnerable child’s education. This includes everything from supplies to technology to expenses paid to the sponsored child's community.

How Does Child Sponsorship Work?

There is no single approach to sponsoring a child. Different organizations have different philosophies and offer different benefits to you and your sponsored child.

However, most operate on the same principles.  A donor will pay a fixed price or monthly sum that goes towards either a specific sponsored child and their family, or the child’s community. 

From there, different organizations offer a variety of ways to sponsor a child.

Where Can I Sponsor A Child?

You can sponsor a child almost anywhere in the world. If you live in the US and want a child sponsor close to home, programs like Children International let you sponsor a child in North and Central America.

Popular organizations like World Vision have the option of sponsoring a child in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Here at the Hearts Company we sponsor children in some of the most poor, rural parts of Cambodia.

According to Child’s Fund International, approximately 31 percent of Cambodia’s population of 14.3 million people live below the poverty line. UNICEF Data shows over half the children in Cambodia don’t complete primary school. 

Our sponsorship system works with over 800 children in the area. We fund projects to help students, their families, and the broader community. 

Can I Sponsor A Specific Child?

Child Sponsorship programs like Save The Children, World Vision, and The Child's Fund offer individual child sponsorships. 

Most of these sponsors charge a monthly sum that goes towards a specific child. For instance, at World Vision your monthly sponsorship donation goes directly towards the living expenses of your sponsored child.

Programs like these allow you to stay in contact with your child by exchanging letters. When you exchange letters, you can develop a special relationship with your child sponsor. 

The sponsor program will normally help send your first letter. From there you can communicate with your child sponsor when you choose. 

How Much Does It Cost To Sponsor A Child?

Cost of sponsoring a child depends on factors such as: your budget, what organization you sponsor through, and the sponsorship packages they have available.

If you have a lower budget, some organizations offer single pay sponsorships where you send a one time payment that sponsors a single cause or child. 

Many organizations offer recurring or monthly donation plans in which you pay a set amount every month to sponsor a child or project.

This is the preferred sponsorship program for organizations like World Vision and Save The Children. The World Vision program lets you support a sponsored child for a recurring payment of $39 a month. 

Which Organization Should I Use?

This is a personal question, and your answer may depend on a number of factors. Some questions to ask yourself when deciding between Child Sponsorship Organizations:

• How much can I contribute?

• Do I want a personal relationship with my sponsored child? Or do I want to support a project that may help a child's community?

• Do I want a program that offers specific perks like letter writing?

• There are sponsorship programs in many countries. Is there a specific community I want to be involved in?

How Do I Search For Sponsorships?

While popular organizations like Save The Children and World Vision grab headlines, there are many other sponsors to choose from. 

You may need to do some research to find a program that fits your needs.

To launch a broader search we suggest aggregate sites like CAF America and Charity Navigator. They list child sponsorships and other charitable options.

Why Sponsor A Child’s Education?

With so many charitable options, you may wonder why it is important to sponsor a child’s education?

We believe education is the most effective way to build wealth and prosperity in developing countries. Sponsoring education prevents children from falling into a cycle of poverty by helping them work towards a better future. It equips students with skills that allow them to provide for themselves, their family, and their community.

Studies confirm sponsoring a child's education has a ripple effect that not only improves the child's life, but lifts up the sponsored child's country and community. Check out some stats below:

Facts About A Child's Education 

• If all students in low-income countries gained basic reading skills, 171 million people could escape poverty.

• The likelihood of infant mortality decreases up to 10% for every additional year of schooling a mother receives.

• Over 40 years, access to quality education can help a country raise its GDP per capita by 23 percent.

Why Students Need Your Help

The statistics are clear. Sponsoring a child's education leads to a better life for the sponsored child, the child's family, and the community at large. Still, millions of kids around the world lack this basic human right. 

In 2019, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) revealed roughly 258 million children were out of school. That’s 1 of every 6 children in the world!

Worse yet, the same study concluded that without any intervention, 12 million primary school age children would never set foot in a school.

Who Is Most At Risk?

Unfortunately, many people in the developing world lack basic needs like health care and a quality public education. 

Even with mounting evidence that more funding leads to a better life for children and their family, some governments refuse to support education in their community. 

In the region of Cambodia we service, the government only provides $1.75 a year for a child’s supplies and schooling. This is similar in other vulnerable communities.

This leaves private organizations to fill the void. Groups like ours, who sponsor a child’s education, must raise money for schooling when the government simply won’t. 

Without our help, many vulnerable children won’t receive basic resources to live and learn. That’s why we’re proud to mobilize and support education for all children. 

Ways To Sponsor A Child’s Education

When you sponsor a child's education, like we do at The Hearts Company, your donation goes towards paying for fees and expenses for your sponsored child's schooling.

If you want to help more than one child, some sponsorship programs fund larger educational projects. 

Your donation will not go towards a specific child, but rather projects that will help many sponsored children and their entire community. 

These sponsorship programs are broader in scope and have the potential to help more children. They can include building new schools, training high quality teachers, and funding tech initiatives.

Our Philosophy

At the Hearts Company we think a hybrid of the two models can produce the most positive effects for a sponsored child. 

When you sponsor a child with us, your donation will go towards paying for the supplies and annual expenses for one of our 800 children. 

Additionally, donors may choose to fund a larger project that will help both a child sponsor and other community members. We currently have the option to pay for the salary of a teacher or fund one of our schools for the year.

What Should A Sponsored Child Receive?

Since our organization helps sponsor a child’s education we believe any sponsorship program for this cause should include funding for the following:

• School Supplies: Vulnerable children lack access to basic supplies like pens, paper, and text books. Supplies like these are essential for any type of education, and should be included when sponsoring a child’s education.

• A Safe School: A safe school is one where a child feels comfortable learning and interacting with other children. This means a building equipped with proper lighting, a strong structure, and working utilities.

• High Quality Teachers: Great teachers make great students. Any child sponsorship program should allocate funds to paying qualified and passionate teachers.

Sponsor A Child With The Hearts Company

We offer three ways to make a difference in the lives of our children and the people within their community. 

• For a one time payment of $15 you can sponsor a child for a year by paying for their school supplies.

• For $30 you can fully sponsor a child by paying all the annual expenses of the sponsored child. This includes both supplies and administrative fees that go to rent and utilities at the school of the sponsored child.

• For the more generous donors we have a package that will let you sponsor more children. For a $150 donation you can fund the annual expenses for 5 students. Like the option above this includes payment for supplies and admin fees usually paid by a child and their families.

If you want to pledge an amount not listed above, we also offer a flexible package. All proceeds will go towards helping our children, their families, and their communities. 

There is no sponsorship commitment for any of our packages so you can donate at your convenience.

Do Sponsorships Really Help Children?

Absolutely! If we did not believe sponsorship yielded benefits to a child's education, we would not dedicate so many hours to the cause. A sponsored child is a safe child.

Over the past decades the sponsorship community has helped many children crawl out of poverty, learn valuable skills, and provide support for their communities.  

Each program has its unique record of success. To give you an idea of the impact a tax-deductible donation has on a sponsored child's life, here are some successes our children have enjoyed.  

Our Success Stories

Your support has allowed us to help many children and their families enjoy a better future.

Last year alone, our child sponsors program raised over $10,000 for children in need. Our community members took a stand for child rights which allowed us to:

• Fund four schools that educate some of the most vulnerable communities of Cambodia.

• Purchase school supplies for all 800 students that attend our schools.

• Keep our children safe by making sure schools didn't close during the COVID crisis.  

Sponsor A Child Today!

Today you can fight poverty and make a difference in a child's life. There are many child sponsorship programs to choose from, but we hope you consider sponsoring a child through the Hearts Company.

With your sponsorship donation we can build a safer world for our 800 children and their families. Tax deductible donations go directly towards a sponsored child's community. Your support may be the difference in the lives of our children.

Take a stand for education. Sponsor a child today with The Hearts Company!