A Few New Sponsor Questions Cancel Title is required

Hi everyone. New sponsor here -- I just signed up to sponsor an 8-year-old boy in Honduras about an hour ago! I have a couple questions for you veteran sponsors. I apologize if these have been asked before.

1. Is there a difference between typing up a letter and mailing to CI or using the online form? If I do type and mail my letter/photos, should I mail them to the Kansas City office or the field office in Honduras?

2. My child's birthday is in mid-March (three days after my birthday!). If I plan on sending a DP, when should I try to get it in the mail? Beginning of December? I guess anyone with experience mailing to Honduras could answer this one.

3. Could someone please explain the process of mailing something via USPS? I've never shipped anything internationally, so what forms, etc. need to be filled out? Are you allowed to ship flat-rate priority mail envelopes overseas? Any other tips?

4. I've read that if you donate $100 or more, the gift doesn't have to wait for the quarterly disbursements. Just how quick is the turnaround on these gifts?

I had a couple other questions, but I'm drawing a blank. They'll come to me eventually!

Thanks!

If you send a gift meant specifically for your child (not the General Fund) it is important to call it a "child-specific Special Needs Gift/Extra Gift." $50 is the minimum. $50-99 gets you a thank-you card (months later) with goods it bought, the family decides what to spend it on, and it is sent on the 15th of the next month whose # is divisible by 3.

If you send $100+, it is true, it gets sent right away. Also, you get a thank-you letter and photos of your kid with the goods, and if you wish, a say on how some or all of it is spent. (I recommend flexibility since they may have a need you don't know about, or can't predict.) I am not sure of the exact turnaround, but if you use a credit card instead of a check, you can shave off a number of days.

A DP can take as much as 4 months to arrive, so that's something to consider. Or, it might be fast enough to make your head spin around. It's unpredictable. Once, I sent something that arrived in 3 or 4 months. A similar item, sent 2 weeks later, arrived in 10 days!

Also, envelopes are less likely to be pilfered than boxes, and it helps if they are plain and perhaps a little beat-up looking.

. Is there a difference between typing up a letter and mailing to CI or using the online form? If I do type and mail my letter/photos, should I mail them to the Kansas City office or the field office in Honduras?

The onlline form gets there a lot faster since it is an email. Also, we are now able to upload pictures which almost completly erases the need for me to send snail mail. You can however send small paper items like stickers through regualar mail. If you want to hand write a letter, send it to the KC office, but only paper items will get through that way.

2. My child's birthday is in mid-March (three days after my birthday!). If I plan on sending a DP, when should I try to get it in the mail? Beginning of December? I guess anyone with experience mailing to Honduras could answer this one.

It can be tricky. As short as 2 weeks and as long as a few months. It depends on the specific location as well. I would send in Janurary just to be sure. I have a child in Barranquilla who gets things way sooner than my child in Cartagena, but both cities are in the same country.

3. Could someone please explain the process of mailing something via USPS? I've never shipped anything internationally, so what forms, etc. need to be filled out? Are you allowed to ship flat-rate priority mail envelopes overseas? Any other tips?

They've made some changes to the way things go through customs now. You have to list everything in the package as well as it's value. I guess its supposed to make the recieving country more accountable for the items. Warning: I've sent maybe 5 or 6 DP since I've been a sponsor and one has never made it. Irronically it was the one with the least monetary value. Ship with caution. However it's always fun to see their pictures afterwards.

4. I've read that if you donate $100 or more, the gift doesn't have to wait for the quarterly disbursements. Just how quick is the turnaround on these gifts?

Credit Card gifts get there very quickly. You should recieve a letter w/ pictures in 6-8 weeks. Last time I got my letter in about 3 weeks. So it all depends. The children and their families have to schedule a time to be taken shopping, so if the schedule is full, you'll have to wait longer.

This just reminded me that I sent small gifts-($50) a few months ago, so I should recieve a card eventually. The cards take the longest,but it's still nice to know what they got.

You'll love sponsorship. Just be careful patrolling the waiting children. There is always one that chooses you and makes you reevaluate your budget

Very good answers by Cbrown as well. Thanks

The only info I have that I can add to the excellent replies above is regarding the email vs. snail mail question. If you use the "write my child" option in My Account, you get to pick from an assortment of nifty stationary and can attach up to three photos to the letter. However, these photos are NOT full-size photographs. They are printed at the bottom of the letter, just like it shows when you "preview" your letter after you type it. They're relatively small. So if you want your child to have 4x6 photos to look at, snail mail 'em through Kansas City.

Saddare-I had no clue! thanks for the heads up. I don't think I've used this feature yet, so I guess I'll send snail mail photos

Wow thanks for the great answers everyone! That was all very helpful. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on. I've learned a lot already reading these forums.

I can't wait until he shows up in my account so I can write my first letter! It's like counting the days until Christmas morning haha! But I imagine it's going to be even harder waiting to receive his first letter to me after a few weeks go by.

dave0311 - go check your My Account now, you should be seeing his info

Thanks for the reply Debbie. I still do not see him listed. I should be looking under "My Sponsorhips," correct?

Ok it's working now. Thanks again!