Connecting with your Child

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You can write to your child.

Your sponsored child delights in receiving mail from you. Simply write a letter and send it to our administrative office in Lethbridge, Alberta. We will process and deliver your letter to your child. Here are some ideas to get you started: introduce your family and include a photograph; write about your hobbies, interests, schooling, or job; describe a favourite holiday or season or sport; send encouraging words. Please do not include your last name or address in your letter, or on letterhead. It is also important to be culturally sensitive when connecting with your child. You may email your child by visiting our website, www.bridgesofhope.ca and click ‘Learn more about: Child Sponsorship’ on the left and click: ‘Email your Sponsor Child’.

Your child will write to you.

You will receive correspondence from your sponsored child two or more times a year including an annual progress report and updated photograph. Please note that some of our sponsored children live in very remote places so we can experience delays in mail or email deliveries. We will do our best to have correspondence between you and your sponsored child delivered in a timely manner.

Special Occasions

Gifts

A small gift will bring joy to your sponsored child. The following items are suitable to include with your letter: photographs, ribbons, stickers, colouring sheets, postcards, paper airplanes, and paper dolls. The items must fit into an envelope, 5 ¾” X 8 ¾” or smaller. Because we want to create an equitable and positive relationship between children and, also to be cost effective, we will no longer accept larger gifts for sponsored children. Although financial gifts cannot be directed to your child, we welcome donations above and beyond your regular sponsorship donations to our sponsorship program. These additional funds will be used for things like the sponsored children’s summer camps, sponsored children’s secondary school fees (which are much higher than primary school fees), and temporary support for a child who has been dropped by his or her sponsor and is waiting for a new sponsor.

Christmas

Christmas is a special season and to help you celebrate with your child, we will send a letter or card to you for your child that you can complete and return to our office in time for deliver at Christmas. As well, our partners in each country where we currently run sponsorship programs provide a special celebration for Christmas for our sponsored children. We do not recommend sending large gifts to individual children; instead, consider our Christmas Gift catalogue that has a variety of items for you to choose from that will contribute to the health and well-being of many people living in your child’s community.

Birthdays

If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday, we suggest that you purchase a birthday card, sign it, and send it to our administrative office in Lethbridge. We will forward your greeting card to your child. If your child does not have a specific birth date, you might consider sending a birthday card at the same time each year.