Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of reasons why we ask that you do not communicate directly with your sponsored child. One of the important features of our program is that it enables centre workers to understand the child’s struggles and to provide help and support. Having your sponsored child’s letters processed through Compassion allows the centre staff to become familiar with your child’s needs, and to help them appropriately. Corresponding directly with your sponsored child would prevent the centre staff from knowing what support the child is requesting and may limit their ability to act on any child protection concerns. By limiting all correspondence through Compassion centres, we are also able to protect sponsors from receiving unsolicited or inappropriate requests from members of your child’s community who may otherwise gain access to your personal details. Most sponsored children speak other languages, so by having the correspondence go through Compassion, we are also able to translate the letters, from your child, for you.

To graduate from Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program, sponsored children need to have at least completed primary school, a vocational training course and possibly secondary education as well. The expected age at which children may complete the program varies from country to country depending on the education system, but will be between 16 years and 22 years. A child may leave the program earlier if their family moves from the area, if the home situation improves, or if the family chooses to withdraw their child from the program. Every teenager with Compassion has a plan for their future, including their likely date for finishing the program. You are welcome to write to your older sponsored child asking about what is contained in their copy of ‘My Plan for Tomorrow’.

For more details on the process, check out this article: When do you graduate from Compassion’s program? 

Yes, we can add your spouse’s name to your sponsorship. Please contact our office by phone or by email so that we can make this change for you.

If you could sum up our ministry in a phrase, it would be “holistic child development.”

We want to see children grow and flourish in all areas of their life – spiritual, physical, cognitive and social-emotional. Through sponsorship we can help make that happen. Each child is linked with one sponsor that contributes $41 a month to ensure that their sponsored child receives healthcare, education, food, clothing, vocational training, social, emotional and spiritual care. These benefits are provided through activities run through the church-based child development centre.

No less than 80 percent of your monthly support benefits your child, either directly or indirectly. Compassion-assisted children and their families receive no cash. Benefits are in the form of goods and services, carefully designed, delivered and purchased according to each child’s individual needs.

As a general rule, 20 percent of these funds are invested in the development, oversight, and auditing of Compassion’s programs in which every assisted-child participates. These investments ensure that each child receives the best care possible, rather than becoming the recipient of a handout.

The remaining funds are used to meet the day-to-day needs of each child. This can include:

• nutritional meals and the provision of clean drinking water;
• medical and dental check-ups, care and education;
• educational supplies and tuition fees;
• clothing including school uniforms;
• non-formal educational and life-skills training such as participation in excursions and camps;
• extra-curricular activities such as drama, dance, music and art etc.; and
• biblical training and discipleship

Our local church partners also invest considerable resources in the development of each child, allowing Compassion and the church to help bring an eternal solution to poverty in the life of a child.

You can change your bank account information through the Payment Methods section of your My Compassion account or by calling our office. Thank you for supporting Compassion.

You can change your credit card information through your My Compassion account or by calling our office. Thank you for supporting Compassion.

Yes. We encourage sponsors to write to their sponsored child, to include photos and cards and encourage them in their spiritual journey. Children love to receive letters and cherish them.

You can send a letter, card, paper play set or poster to your sponsored child through your My Compassion account.

See how letter writing impacts a child in Ghana.

Read how receiving letters affects in child in Nicaragua.

Christmas is one of the most special times of the year for sponsored children. For many, Christmas is the only time they receive gifts. The Christmas Gift Fund provides an age-appropriate Christmas gift for every child registered with Compassion. These gifts include clothing, blankets and bed-linen, toiletries, practical items and, of course, a range of toys. Funds are pooled internationally and equally distributed amongst all Compassion-assisted children, including those who do not yet have a sponsor. Compassion Canada suggests sponsors contribute an amount of $25 per child to this fund. Each sponsor has the opportunity to send a special Christmas card to the child they sponsor, which can be written online through your My Compassion account or sent via mail.

Yes!

Compassion exposure trips are an exciting opportunity for you to have a safe yet rich cultural experience while allowing you to see our work firsthand and visit your sponsored child. When we’re travelling to your sponsored child’s country, you will receive a personal invitation by email to travel with us and see for yourself how your sponsorship is impacting your child’s life. We promise, when you return from this adventure, you will never look at the world the same way.

Check your My Compassion account to see if we have the correct email address on file for you.

To add or change your email address, click here.

Read more about Compassion Exposure trips!

Compassion Canada is located at 985 Adelaide St S. in London Ontario.

Our mailing address is:

Compassion Canada
BOX 5591
London ON
N6A5G8

Many of the children who Compassion supports have received no, or only very limited formal education prior to being registered in the project. Many are therefore not as advanced in their learning as a child of the same age from Canada. Many are the equivalent of at least two or three years younger in their educational development. If a child is unable to write their own letters, project staff will sit and talk with the child and ask what they would like to say in their letters. Writing letters is a new skill for many children and therefore many will be unfamiliar with how to go about it. The project staff will then write up the letters which are translated and then sent on to us to forward to you. Some projects will also use letter writing as part of their curriculum to help children develop their reading and writing skills, therefore the letters may seem a little formal. Please do be patient as your sponsored child learns to write and is then able to write to you personally. Many children will draw pictures or write their name or a few words that they can, to share with you what they are able to do. Rest assured that the letters you write to your sponsored child will be greatly valued, and will really help to remind your sponsored child that they are precious and loved.

Children don’t necessarily write back to you on the same day that they receive your letter. Instead, they reply on a scheduled day when all the children at the project write to their sponsors. Your sponsored child may have proudly taken your letter home to share with family & friends and may not have it handy to remind them of the questions you answered. Please remember that it can take up to two months for your letter to be translated (if needed) and delivered. Please check the date of your sponsored child’s letter so you can work out whether he or she would have received your answers before they last wrote. Compassion is working on a program to ensure that answers are recorded by project staff, so they can ensure that the children know them. You can help in this process by underlining or highlighting your answers in your letter and making them easy to understand.

All donations given through online fundraisers are receipted by email shortly after completing the donation online. If you did not receive your receipt via email shortly after making your donation to an online fundraiser, please email volunteer@compassion.ca.

No. The Canada Revenue Agency states that we must receipt the person that gave the donation.

Children are required to write to their sponsors a minimum of two letters a year. If there is something wrong with your sponsored child, we will contact you. If it has been 6 months since you have received a letter, please contact our office. We may have an undeliverable address for you and have been unable to send your sponsored child’s letters through to you.

You can reach us by phone at 1-800-563-5437 or by email at info@compassion.ca

We do not facilitate children visiting their sponsors in Canada or elsewhere because of several factors:

Cost – The cost of flights, passports, accommodations for child, guardian and translator would be extremely prohibitive.

Culture Shock – Few Compassion-assisted children have ever been more than 3 – 4 blocks away from their homes. While Compassion programs have implemented outings so children can see a little more beyond their immediate community (such as city park and zoo trips), North American culture would be too challenging for a child.

Although your child cannot visit you, you can go and visit your child in their country. You can learn more about different travel opportunities with Compassion here.

Compassion deeply appreciates the faithful emotional and financial support you give to your sponsored child. In today’s uncertain economic times your support and commitment become even more critical as our sponsored children and their families living in extreme poverty are hit even harder by the global recession and food crisis. Because we understand that sometimes personal or financial circumstances can make that monthly financial commitment very difficult for you, Compassion has various options available to assist you that can be customized according to your individual needs and financial circumstances. If you are experiencing difficulties and feel you might benefit from one of our options for sponsorship assistance or you would like to find out more, please contact our office..

Donations can be made by pre-authorized withdrawal (bank account or credit card), internet banking, telephone banking, Interac online, cheque or money order. These withdrawals can be made monthly or annually. Pre-authorized donations are safe, easy and convenient. Pre-authorized withdrawal from your bank account is our preferred method of payment, as it saves Compassion hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in transaction fees. Automatic withdrawals can be setup by calling our office or by mailing in your information to us at Compassion Canada, PO Box 5591, London ON, N6A 5G8. Cheques made out to Compassion Canada will be accepted, as will money orders. Unfortunately deposits can not be made directly into Compassion’s bank account.

When you write a letter online, we send it digitally to the Country Office. From there, Compassion staff translate, print and deliver the letters (and photos) to your child. We are unable to send emails directly to your sponsored child but our online letter writing process is the next best option.

Write a letter today from your My Compassion account.