While there are a number of ways to support CAUSE Canada, the CAUSE Kids sponsorship program has some particular advantages:

• CAUSE Kids sponsorship offers all eligible children access to education and its benefits regardless of gender, age, race or religion. We believe that education will give children more and better opportunities in life and enable them to choose the path they are meant to follow.

• Motivated by our faith in Christ, CAUSE Kids chooses to live out His mandate to love children by  upholding their rights to receive adequate nutrition, health care and basic education.

• Sponsors can enjoy a personal relationship with their sponsored child.

• It is very precious to Sierra Leonean children to know that someone far away cares for them.

• Sponsorship increases the likelihood of parents sending their children, especially girls to school. Faced with the challenges presented by extreme poverty, parents are often more inclined to choose work rather than education for their children. Sometimes, one or two of the boys in the family may go to school while their sisters remain in the home to help with daily chores or farm work.

• Participation in a program such as CAUSE Kids gives us all an opportunity to learn more about another part of the world.

• While all children are precious in the eyes of God and treated equally by CAUSE Kids in accordance with their need as part of the CAUSE Kids program, we understand that sponsors often make choices for a certain reason. Some people like to choose children the same age as their own and some people like to sponsor one boy and one girl.
• You may indicate a preference for the gender of the child you sponsor on the secure on-line sponsorship form. You can also contact our office, or make a note in the ‘Additional Comments’ section if you would like to sponsor a child of a certain age. CAUSE Kids matches children with sponsors in the order that they are registered in the program.

• All sponsored children remain in the CAUSE Kids program until they are finished Junior High School, although upon graduation they will continue to benefit through our involvement in their community.

For a number of reasons it may become necessary to reassign a child.  Here are some:

• It is not uncommon for families to leave rural areas in search of other opportunities. If this should happen, CAUSE Kids will notify you and ask you to consider sponsoring another child. We will initiate the new sponsorship unless we hear otherwise from you. Should you choose not to continue, we will completely understand. You are always welcome to rejoin the program at any time.

• The child graduates from Junior High School, equipped with skills to pursue a better living.

• The child marries. Early marriage is not uncommon in Sierra Leone but statistics show that girls who receive education marry later in life and have fewer children.

• The child dies. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that sometimes children die, and sadly this reality is more frequent in the developing world. CAUSE Kids Sierra Leonean and Canadian staff are doing everything that we can to prevent this tragedy, including the teaching of preventative health care. Should this ever happen, CAUSE Kids will offer you the opportunity to sponsor another child, but will understand if you need time to grieve and wish to postpone such a decision.

• Sponsorship contributions are used for programs that benefit not only the sponsored child, but the child’s family and community. Nearly 25 years of experience has taught CAUSE Canada that to help a child in a lasting way we must help the child’s family and community become self-sufficient. By improving the facilities and resources in the communities where children live, while also providing the things a child needs for his or her health and education, CAUSE Kids helps give children their best chance of fulfilling their potential.
• CAUSE Kids is a school-based program. We are working with our partners in Sierra Leone to tackle the challenges associated with poverty one school at a time. Pooling resources allows us to help a large number of students gain access to basic education, nutrition and a chance for a better standard of living for themselves and their families. Thanks to the support of our CAUSE Kids sponsors, the families of more than 1500 children have been relieved of the burdens that make it difficult, if not impossible, to send their children to school.

• The length of your commitment is up to you and any contribution you make will positively impact the life of a child. If you must end your sponsorship for any reason, your sponsored child will continue to benefit from community programs and we will find a new sponsor for your sponsored child as quickly as we can. Please keep in mind that sponsorship for less than a year adds additional work and increases the expenses of the program. Short sponsorships also limit your ability to become acquainted with your sponsored child.

• Although exchanging letters with your sponsored child can be a rewarding experience, we want to emphasize that there is absolutely no pressure for you to do this if time or circumstances do not allow it. The children generally write letters to their sponsors as a class and in small groups in order that none of them feels excluded. When correspondence is delivered to a child, the other children are content to celebrate with their peers, knowing that they all have the benefit of education thanks to their friends in Canada and other countries.

• Your sponsored child receives elementary and secondary education.

• Your sponsored child is given a school uniform and shoes, and basic school materials.

• Your sponsored child has access to first aid and basic health care.

• Your sponsored child participates in elementary school breakfast and lunch programs. This nutrition program is supplemented by the school gardens, tended by teachers, students and community members.

• Your sponsored child has access to clean, safe drinking water and composting latrines.

• Your sponsored child benefits from teacher training and incentives – CAUSE Kids works to improve the quality of education for all the children who attend our partner schools.

• Your sponsored child’s family has access to CAUSE Canada’s micro-credit programs.

• Your sponsored child’s family will be relieved of the burdens that prevent them from sending each and every child in the home to school.

• Mothers in CAUSE Kids communities will have access to literacy, leadership and financial management training. 

• Your sponsored child’s community will participate in agricultural training and initiatives, enabling them to use more effective farming methods

• Your sponsored child’s community will have access to clean drinking water.

Yes, CAUSE Kids is a program of CAUSE Canada, an officially registered charitable organization with the Canadian federal government. CAUSE Canada’s charitable registration number is 11884 1428 RP.

• Over the past ten years, CAUSE Canada has averaged less than 9% on fundraising and administrative costs, with the remainder going towards planning and implementing our Canadian and overseas program work. CAUSE Canada is able to keep overhead low with the assistance of the government of Canada (CIDA), which provides matching funds for many of our overseas community development programs.

CAUSE Kids and CAUSE Canada have a policy of accountability and openness. We publish an Annual  Report containing worldwide consolidated financial statements available at www.cause.ca/annualreport. We encourage sponsors to visit our programs overseas, to meet the children, families and visit their communities, and observe the impact of their assistance first-hand. Sponsors receive newsletter updates, program updates and annual reports on the progress of their sponsored child and his or her family and community, in addition to letters from the child.

You should receive one to two letters a year from the child you sponsor. You will also receive an annual school report and Christmas greetings from CAUSE Kids.

Although you will receive one or two letters from the child you sponsor each year, you are not required to answer. The children are pleased just to know that someone far away cares for and supports them. We encourage the children, usually with the help of their teachers, to write letters because they are an important part a child's development. Letter writing improves children's basic literacy skills, self-awareness and ability to put thoughts and feelings into words.

You may mail your letter to our head office in Canmore, Alberta, or e-mail it through causekids@cause.ca. Please, remember to include your sponsored child’s full name as well as your own full name on each item you send.

You may write your sponsored child as often as you like. Whether you write once or several times a year, your sponsored child will be very pleased to hear from you.

For those who find themselves pressed for time, we recommend sending a photo or two with your name and that of your family members written on the back. This will enable your sponsored child to visualize who you are.

Keep your letters simple and include words of encouragement. Write about things your child will understand such as your family, church, and special customs. It is customary to greet the parents of your child. Here are some ideas to include in your letters:

• Send photographs or postcards. Children love receiving pictures and will often display them in their home.

• Talk about the concrete things in your life: family, work, food, the weather, your neighbourhood.

• Try describing your last family gathering. Introduce all the members of your extended family and describe what it’s like when you get together.

• Many sponsored children live in agriculture-based societies, and may be interested in hearing about your garden.

• Simply write that you’re thinking of your sponsored child, and wish them the best. This is a warm reminder that someone far away cares, and one of the most important things you could ever send a child!

• If you are sponsoring as a group, it is better to appoint one person to sign the letter so that the child does not feel overwhelmed.

Avoid things that indicate the vast differences between your world and the world of your child. Remember that he/she is one of the poorest in a
community stricken with poverty.

• Do not mention material possessions.
• Do not suggest that your child visit Canada. 
• Do not mention financial gifts as these are not given to him/her directly.
• Do not ask your child what he/she would like to receive as a gift. This puts him/her in an awkward position as he/she struggles to find an appropriate answer.
• Do not send packages. Due to excessive customs duties, regulations and risk of loss or theft, we cannot send packages to your child. In addition, it is important to keep the gift giving fair for each of the children.

Because of customs restrictions, CAUSE Kids can only send flat paper items with your letters. You can enclose small gifts such as postcards, bookmarks, photos, stamps, stickers or pages from colouring books. While these gifts may not seem like much, they will thrill the children who receive them. Postcards of Canadian animals and nature are great favourites.

CAUSE Kids does not direct funds toward a single child or her/his family. We have learned through experience that the best use of financial gifts in the investment in schools and communities. This has the additional    advantage of maintaining equality among the children.

We are always happy to offer the option of investing in a project that will benefit your child’s community. Such projects include: school libraries, community gardens, composting latrines, hand washing stations and wells. Sponsoring a second or third child is also always an option.

CAUSE Kids provides a Global Gift Catalogue that offers you a variety of options for improving the quality of life in your sponsored child’s community. While all of these gifts will have an impact on your sponsored child, most do not go directly to the child or child’s family. There is, however, an exception to this policy.  If you choose ‘The Gift of Reading’ (the purchase of seven books for school libraries), your sponsored child will receive one book.

Gift items found in the Global Gift Catalogue are available to you to give at any time throughout the year. You may also purchase a gift to mark a special occasion for a friend or family member or to honour the memory of a loved one.

CAUSE Kids welcomes the opportunity for sponsors and all Canadians to experience other parts of the world, and to learn how other areas of the world and other cultures live. Please note that we need to hear about your trip two to four months before you leave to arrange a visit with your sponsored child. In the event you cannot provide sufficient advance notice, we will do our best to organize a meeting, but cannot guarantee it will take place.

CAUSE Kids will arrange an annual visit for interested sponsors in February of each year, provided minimum numbers are met. Contact us at causekids@cause.ca for more details.

• Share with family and friends that you have become a sponsor and describe what you enjoy about your CAUSE Kids sponsorship.
• Encourage your friends to become CAUSE Kids sponsors and/or to make purchases from the Gift Catalogue on special occasions.
• Learn more about the rights of children and the Millennium Development Goals by visiting www.un.org/millenniumgoals.