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I have read enough...I want to SPONSOR A CHILD |
When I send letters and gifts,
how do I know what might offend or be culturally unacceptable?
When you communicate with your sponsored child or send gifts, all
comments and materials must be consistent with our Christian values and
philosophies we share with our partnering churches and organizations.
We regret that we are not able to forward photographs and other materials that:
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Are likely to be culturally unacceptable.
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Promoting lifestyle choices that we and/or our program partners would view as unhelpful, unhealthy and not consistent with biblically-based lifestyles or otherwise inappropriate for sponsored children and their background experiences.
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Might threaten the safety of the sponsored children in any way.
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We will not forward communications or materials that promote or encourage another religious worldview. Also, we will not forward pictures or other materials with persons dressed in immodest clothing or engaging in activities inconsistent with our ministry values and beliefs.
Some examples of this are materials which show or refer to the excessive use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, unlawful drugs and materials or activities that we regard as dangerous or unsafe.
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How can I communicate with the child I sponsor?
By sponsoring a particular child, you are linked with that child until
circumstances change (e.g. the child no longer needs supporting). There is no
obligation for you to write to your sponsored child, but we would like to
encourage you to do this, and of course our program partners encourage the child
to reply.
You are welcome to communicate with your child 3 or 4 times a year if you wish. Please send cards, letters or, preferably, emails to the CRY USA office which we will forward to our local administrator who will translate them.
CRY USA
8896 Ellingham Street
San Diego,
CA 92129
usoffice @cryusa.org
Firstly, please bear in mind that these children all come
from different backgrounds. Some have been rescued from the streets, others come
through social services. A few are orphans with no knowledge of their families.
Others have parents who may be divorced or separated. We actively try and
re-establish contact with their families but often they don't want to look after
their children, or are unable to, through poverty or ill health. Personal
background information is often incomplete and inaccurate.
Please write one-page letters in clear simple English.
Unless you are fluent in the language and local dialects, your letters may be misunderstood. Please feel free to enclose photos, picture postcards and greetings cards. It is important that you do NOT include your address or any contact information on the actual letter you write to the child, but do remember to include it on a covering letter so that we know where to return any reply. Please refer to yourself being a "friend" rather than a "sponsor".
A group-sponsored child
When a group sponsors a child, all letters should come from one person appointed
as the group's letter writer.
What to write
Your sponsored child would like to know about you personally - your family,
pets, hobbies, favorite sports or other activities as well as your occupation
and where you live. After the first letter or two, focus more and more on the
child. Please avoid writing about material possessions and any other topics that
emphasize the difference between you and the child's situation. By writing about
your everyday life, your child will get to know you and gain insight into your
culture, making this an educational experience for both of you. Encouragement is
one of the most important things you can give.
Translations
Your letter will be given to the child along with a translation if necessary.
Field staff translate all letters and replies. Whilst we encourage all sponsored
children to reply, we cannot guarantee one. Children who are not able to write
are assisted by relatives or project staff who identify themselves in the letter
you receive. However, we must emphasize that this all takes time.
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I have read enough...I want to SPONSOR A CHILD |
What other opportunities will I have to learn about the child I'm helping?
Visits to your sponsored child can sometimes be arranged but must be
at the sponsor's expense. However, in the case of sponsored children in
residential care, it is difficult to operate a visiting system from a staffing
point of view - for example, children often attend school in several different
shifts. If you are planning to visit the country anyway, and would like to see
your sponsored child for half an hour, please contact our UK office at least 6
weeks before your trip for advice. We do not facilitate visits of children to
their sponsors. In addition to letters from your sponsored child, CRY will send you
updates about your child's progress, CRY NEWS - a
publication about CRY's work and partnership programs worldwide, and
program news updates.
What do I do if I am considering cancelling my sponsorship?
You can discontinue your child sponsorship at any time if
your circumstances change - just revisit this page, click the 'Unsubscribe' button
and follow the simple instructions. Or make the changes by logging on to your
PayPal account, or contact PayPal directly if you prefer.
To inquire further about canceling your sponsorship, please call our contact center
at (360) 312-3195 or
email
usoffice @cryusa.org.
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Will my child write back to me?
Unlike some other sponsorship programs that state that the child WILL
write back, from our professional childcare background, we do not
feel it is right to 'force' the child to write. Your child will therefore be 'encouraged' to write back to you,
but not forced - in reality, most of
course want to and will write back. The child's support worker or other staff
member will help any children who have yet to learn how to read and write. Most
letters (both ways) will require translation, and this is usually done by local
staff - please do be patient in this respect. It does all take time to arrange,
and of course mail times can be a few weeks in some cases.
How long should my child sponsorship last?
Sponsorship support is often required for some time after a child has
left residential care to return home, live with foster parents or live in CRY
supported lodgings - usually when the child reaches the age of 18 to 22. Our local CRY social workers closely monitor all placements
on a regular basis. When a child's circumstances change so that our assistance
is no longer required or possible, then another child can be assisted instead.
We do ask for your understanding and for your continuing support of a different
child in need. When a child no longer requires our help, a sponsor can feel a
great sense of satisfaction and achievement. Please understand that a sponsored child's circumstances
can change - e.g. when families move out of a CRY Program area we are often not
able to continue the support. When this happens, we will inform you as soon as possible
and then offer you the opportunity to support
another child in need of your help.
As a sponsor, how else can I learn about the child I am helping?
In addition to letters from your sponsored child, CRY will send you
periodic updates about the child's progress and newsletters about situations
in your child's country that affect child development and CRY's
partnership
program there. You'll have a better understanding of your sponsored child's
culture and life.
Visits to your sponsored child can sometimes be arranged but must be at the sponsor's expense. However, in the case of sponsored children in residential care, it is difficult to operate a visiting system from a staffing point of view - for example, children often attend school in several different shifts. If you are planning to visit the country anyway, and would like to see your sponsored child for half an hour or so, please contact our USA office at least 6 weeks before your planned trip for advice. We do not facilitate visits of children to their sponsors.
What specific benefits will the child I sponsor receive?
Sponsoring a child through CRY means enables children and young people
to receive opportunities and
services that most of the world's poorest children will simply never
have access to.
These opportunities and services include the following:
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The opportunity to receive an education: this often means covering the cost of school fees, clothing and other requirements. Or it might mean providing tutoring, homework help, general encouragement, and literacy help outside school hours.
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The opportunity to be healthy: CRY's program partners monitor the health and general well being of the child you are sponsoring and care will be provided as needed. Children are taught about hygiene and personal health. Many CRY sponsored children also receive supplementary food/dietary supplements.
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The opportunity to develop social skills and self-confidence
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The opportunity to learn about Jesus and hear the good news of the Gospel: Most CRY sponsorship programs are directly linked to, or partnered by, local Christian churches. Children and young people are encouraged (but never forced) to attend local churches, receive prayer, in-house Bible teaching, spiritual help and guidance.
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I have read enough...I want to SPONSOR A CHILD |
What makes CRY different to other childcare organizations?
We are not actually very comfortable 'blowing our own trumpet', because
all our work is to the glory of God, not for self-glorification. God has clearly
blessed us with His grace and favor since we formed our UK
charity in 1990. This question is therefore probably best answered by studying
our Mission Statement and background methodology - this should clearly show
something of the spirit and heartbeat of CRY.
Our Mission Statement:
CRY is a Christian charity dedicated to caring for disadvantaged, destitute and
suffering children, young people and their families. CRY aims to rescue and
restore young lives broken by poverty, oppression, exclusion, abuse, and to
provide appropriate opportunities for a better future.
CRY has come from a background of initiating,
supporting and managing projects directed at children at risk. Early projects
worked with children living on the streets and provided residential care for
them. In recent years, CRY has successfully been providing funding for the
on-going running costs of various programs and also, when grants have been
obtained, to make one-off donations to help projects usually with building
renovation work, together with equipment and furniture.
The programs have been many and various ranging from working with street kids,
children at risk, children’s homes, education, health promotion, agriculture,
HIV/AIDS, day centers, drug rehab, family programs, support for war orphans
etc, and also in a variety of different nations. We have worked in just about
every case with a local Christian church, providing the resources and help
generally for them to carry the responsibility for the programs, so they are
in fact ministering to the poor in their own locality.
CRY’s objectives have been, to minister through the various projects, to those
in greatest need. This has been achieved through residential care, family
support, foster care, independence training, etc. Many of these children have
had the opportunity to experience love, affection and security for the first
time in their lives and it is this outcome which CRY wishes to continue to
provide.
Whilst there is still significant need in all of the countries which have CRY
supported projects, many of these countries are now developing their own social
care systems and our priority must be to impact in those countries with the less
developed systems and the greatest need. Our emphasis will remain with those in
greatest need – basically the poorest of the poor, which might include reaching
unreached people groups.
Alongside the direct care of children and their families recent experience has
shown the benefits of providing finance to enable projects to set up programs
which will provide employment, income and self sufficiency. CRY’s objective will
always be that of discouraging dependency on “western aid” and in this context
development of seed funding/ business loans will be considered as preferred
options before commitments to revenue funding.
CRY will therefore continue to develop the methodology - all financial
commitments to projects being based on specific fundraising through grants,
sponsorship and direct giving. CRY’s fundraising in any one year is based on
known need and the targets set as a faith-based commitment.
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In which countries do you work?
Currently we are supporting/directly involved with work in 16 countries, divided into four areas:
Africa: Ghana, Rwanda, Congo, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho.
Europe: Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Russia.
Asia: Armenia, India, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar.Middle East: Yemen
When, how and why did CRY begin
its work?
From the late 1980s, Pastor Martyn Dunsford from
Southampton, England, was visiting Romania on a regular basis as part of his
ministry into Eastern Europe and countries of the Former Soviet Union. Shortly after the
bloody Peoples' Revolution in Romania which brought down the evil dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu
in December 1989,
Martyn visited a few of the state orphanages that appeared on TV screens around the
world soon after the media were allowed in. An estimated 150,000 children
(considered incurables) were virtually imprisoned in remote state orphanages
- living in appalling conditions - chained to their cots - clothes covered in urine and
excrement - rocking backwards and
forwards like animals in cages.
As Martyn prayed to God, asking what he could do to help, He heard God say...
"...you can at least CRY for these little ones" - and CRY we did!
Martyn gathered together Christian business people (including CRY USA's David Farndale) and other Christians working at a senior level in the caring professions, and immediately got involved in various acts of aid and support to Romania, including placing workers directly into children's homes. A year later, Care and Relief for the Young (CRY UK) was formed as a registered charity in England, and CRY Romania as a registered Romanian foundation. Following a request from Bucharest City Council, we opened up our first children's home, Casa Robin Hood in the capital Bucharest. Since those early days, CRY's work has hugely expanded over the years with the charity currently (04/10) supporting some 32 partnership programs in 19 countries.
CRY's Christian commitment and ethos have never been compromised. All of our
key employees and overseas program partners are committed Christians from
different denominations of local churches
and Christian non-profit organizations.
Is CRY affiliated with any church or denomination?
NO - CRY works with local Christian churches and non-profit
organizations across a number of denominations - our Statement of
Faith explains what we believe.
Care and Relief for the Young
(CRY UK) in the UK is closely linked with (including shared offices)
Kings Community Church,
Hedge End, Southampton - a Member church of the
Newfrontiers
worldwide group of 700 churches in 60 Nations headed up by Terry Virgo.
Visit Newfrontiers
USA for details of their church locations in the USA.
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I have read enough...I want to SPONSOR A CHILD |
How does CRY ensure that my support actually benefits the child I
sponsor?
CRY has a personal relationship with each of its Program
Partners, and is in regular contact with local staff. These staff have an
intimate knowledge of each child’s unique needs we can, therefore, be confident
that your support enables the child to grow and develop.
CRY works hard to evaluate and monitor each local program in terms of its
effectiveness and long-term impact with each individual child.
CRY conducts regular audits, normally during program visits, to make sure funds are properly received, tracked and managed.
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Does CRY make
available its financial statements?
Visit our
Financials page for more information.
Are my contributions to CRY, including my sponsorship support and
gifts, tax-deductible?
All contributions to CRY are tax-deductible in the USA. As a requirement of the 1993 Revenue Reconciliation Act, we verify
that no goods or services of value are given to you for your financial contribution.
What percentage of my
sponsorship supports the child or is spent on program activities?
CRY guarantees that at least 95% of all sponsorship funds it receives
will go directly to the various residential projects or child placements. In
fact currently CRY is supporting the programmes to a much higer level of funding
than the income from child sponsorship would allow.
CRY is a member of The Evangelical Alliance
A word from the President…
"I do hope that you will decide to support a child through our child
sponsorship program. With the help of caring people like you, we can help stop
the suffering and give deserving children in need a better life today and hope
for the future. It's a very rewarding commitment.
Our partnership projects employ exclusively local personnel (mostly Christian) and have a set of strict financial controls. Long term funding is gained extensively, but not exclusively, through this system of child sponsorship.
Our child sponsorship Welcome Pack should
provide you with all the information you need, but should you have any queries
from time to time, please feel free to
contact us when we will be pleased to
help solve your problems and answer your questions".
David Farndale
President - CRY USA
Executive Officer - Care and Relief for the Young
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I'm OK with all that...I want to SPONSOR A CHILD |
CRY USA is registered as a 501(c)(3) public charity in N. America - EIN 20-3157407
Care and Relief for the Young (CRY) is registered in the UK - Charity No.1011513