How to Sponsor a Child

The decision to become a sponsor is one of the greatest decisions a person could ever make. Being a sponsor is your opportunity to share in the life of a young person whose future may depend on the involvement of someone like you.

Outreach Vietnam, in collaboration with Bridges to Learning, provides sponsorship opportunities to the children who attend the Anh Linh Free School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. As of March 2012, 102 children are available to receive sponsorships.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SPONSOR A CHILD?

Your sponsorship of just $42 per month (or $500 a year) allows a child to receive:

1. Daily classes that meet Vietnam’s curriculum standards
2. Extracurricular English classes, library access, and activities
3. Two nutritious meals a day (breakfast and lunch)
4. Two new uniforms a year
5. School books and supplies
6. Monthly haircuts
7. Health, dental and vision screening (and treatment as needed)
8. Special programs and activities throughout the year

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AS A SPONSOR?

A sustaining sponsorship is a three year commitment as students become invested in the relationship that you share with them. The relationship becomes an important part of this decision: both sponsor and child receive more than they would through a simple donation. A student is carefully selected based on the principal's belief that he/she would significantly benefit from a sponsorship relationship. Sponsorship provides the donor with the unique opportunity to:

• Develop a relationship with their sponsored child by exchanging photos and letters
• Know that they are supporting the happiness of a specific child who would otherwise face a bleak and limited future
• See the amazing difference that a small amount of caring can bring

Over the course of one year, a sponsor and child will develop a relationship that involves:

• A few letters a year from your sponsored child – giving you the opportunity to more fully understand the challenges and highlights your sponsored child is going through
• Semester report cards/transcripts
• Email exchanges or Skype video conference calls

HOW DO I BECOME A SPONSOR?

Go to http://www.bridges2learning.org/index.php/help-a-child/sponsor-a-child for more information and procedures to sponsor a child!