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How often

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KristaJason
February 21, 2012

Ok, I know we are asked to not write our sponsor children a crazy amount of times due to cost for translations, etc...but be honest: how often do you write your sponsor children? Email letters vs hand-written and sent by mail letters? Do you wait for a letter in return before you write a new one? Just curious to see what everyone else is doing.

musigal
February 21, 2012

I write to my kids about every 3 months. That way we kind of keep a "conversation" going, but I don't overwhelm them. I also send cards for Christmas and their birthdays.

So far, my kids have responded to all of the letters I've sent. I hand write my letters because I like the personal touch to it.

neuilly
February 21, 2012

I'm similar to musigal. I write about every three months...this usuall means that I'm replying to a letter they've written me too which provides good topics for conversation.

jenkinsg
February 21, 2012

Drat. I just submitted a long, detailed reply to this, but the site timed me out and swallowed it.

The short version is that the kids are only asked to answer letters you write every 90 days. That is, if you write every month, they'll be encouraged to answer the 1st letter, but not the letters received by KC on days 31 and 61, then they'll be asked to reply to the 4th letter (received on day 91). They might answer the others, but the 90-day rule exists to prevent overwhelming kids who find writing or travelling to the community center a struggle. Unfortunately, if you don't know this is how it works, it can look like the kids just write random letters and never respond to what you write.

So you should time letters that require replies based on 90-days, but you can send cards and stickers and "thinking of you" stuff that wouldn't require a reply in between.

Also, either keep copies of your letters or notes about what you wrote. The kids don't usually think to reference what you wrote in their reply, and by the time you get the letter you may have forgotten. And the translators don't know what the sponsor knows, so something that might make perfect sense to the sponsor if translated literally doesn't make sense to the translator, yet they have to figure out how to convey the meaning.

Missing user
February 21, 2012

It varies. Some years it is harder to write than others. Like when I had a newborn or when we moved or I got a new job. But I try to write 4-6 letters per year. I also send cards and photos and whatnot that doesn't need a reply. Usually I get a fair number of responses. I never really tallied it or anything. We also get extra letters after we've made a visit and I send them a bunch of photos from the visits. I almost always hand-write them in a card or on nice paper. If I haven't written in a while I might use the online/email letter feature to save time. I do know that my kids have kept every single letter and photo I've sent. They show me them all when I visit. So even if I do not get a response, I know they like getting the letters. So I write :)

Khill811
June 17, 2013

I actually have yet to write my sponsored child. It's something i'm working myself up towards. For some reason, it makes me vaguely uncomfortable. Does she want to hear what I have to say? How does she view me? I guess I can't assume what others are thinking. It definitely is something I want to do in the near future.

netcong5
June 17, 2013

I write to my girls almost immediately after receiving a letter from them. It doesn't always work out that way though because sometimes life just has a way of interrupting or if I know I'm going some place that I want to share photos of with my girls, I wait until I get the photos taken and back from Wal Mart. I make it a point of sending birthday cards, Thanksgiving cards, Halloween cards, Easter Cards, Mother's Day Cards (none of my girls have fathers...I picked girls intentionally from single parent homes) and Christmas Cards. I don't write long letters and I try to encourage them as well.

Sharon

Cbrown46
June 17, 2013

I write very frequently. As often as once a month. It actually varies per child. Isaura is 16 and loves getting letters so I write her often. Sometimes its a reponse to a letter. Other times it's an update on how things are going in my life. Basically a highlight of the month along with some encouraging words.

Daniela is only 6 and cannot write so I send her a letter maybe every 3 months just to check in.

Vanessa is new and I'm not sure what kind of writer she is just yet.

Lots of sponsors are saying they are having a hard time writing. Maybe I should start posting my letters to my children to give people some ideas.

Missing user
September 20, 2014 in reply to KristaJason
I was able to think of 42 important things in life to share with my sponsored child, Milton. Because I can only fit a little amount of text into the letter format they have, I have to send him 42 separate letters. So, I plan on continuing to send him a letter once every 1-2 months.
MaxwellsEquations
January 29, 2017 in reply to jenkinsg
This was super helpful! I have noticed this. Except I write at least twice a year, at max 3... I know I'm terrible. But does this rule still apply to me since I write so infrequently? If so, how should I time my letters? Thanks in advance!
barbmc
January 29, 2017
Sadly, I think most sponsors do not write at all, so there is no reason to feel badly about writing two or three times a year. I usually write shortly after receiving a letter from them, so about four or five letters a year. Most are written on my computer, but occasionally I send a hand written letter, because I think they are more special. Sometimes I will send a card  on a special occasion with a few lines of my own added to it (sometimes digital, sometimes not).  I try to space them so the child will not receive my letters all at once, and then get nothing for a long period of time. It's really about what feels comfortable for you.  Your sponsored child will know that you care enough about them to take the time to write.
ak9999
January 29, 2017
I was so keen at the beginning, I wrote all the time. But then I saw that they recommended not more than one a month, so I targeted once a month. I was afraid if I wrote more, the translators would put out a contract on me. The kids do tend to love getting letters. It's a unique experience for them. And they realize that if they write often, it will encourage me to keep to my quota.

By all means, sharing letters that you've written can serve as an inspiration for others.


MackyMack
January 29, 2017
I don't write nearly often enough. Aside from the ones in Ecuador, my kids didn't get any letters in 2016. I used to be better, but as my "kid count" increased, the job got more overwhelming. Part of my problem is that I don't often use the online tool. I don't like it, because I want to be able to print and send photos ... which means printing photos, buying cards, writing the letters, sending them off to a translator (to spare CI), writing ID numbers down on all the envelopes, and acquiring books in Spanish to include with the letters, writing ID numbers on the plastic bags holding the books, and, finally, mailing it all to Kansas City. Very daunting. However, my 2017 resolution is to start sending email letters and only aim for one "real" one per year. That way, the kids will actually hear from me! 

I know the kids love getting letters. A few of mine actually beg me to write more. Do keep in mind, though, what was written above about the lengths some of the children must travel to pick up their letters. That would be a good thing to ask in a letter, actually: How far do you live from your community center? How often do you go there? How do you get there? ... then adjust the frequency of letters accordingly. Some kids might visit their center weekly for a class or daily for a feeding program, but others who must make long and difficult bus journeys may only come a few times a year for the required doctor/dentist visits or to update annual photos and to write required letters. Of course, I'm sure they are happy to find a stack of letters from their sponsor waiting for them when they get there!

I'm making the assumption that the kids only pick up their letters when they are at the community center for some other reason, but maybe with advancing technology it's easier to alert a child's family when a letter arrives? That's something I need to ask on my next visit. 
Missing user
January 30, 2017 in reply to KristaJason
If I were a patient perfectionist, I'd write each letter by hand and send only printed photos. In reality, though, only a couple of my six or so annual letters to each child are handwritten. They often include a photo or a postcard. For the remaining letters, I rely on CI's excellent online letter-writing tool.
English Rose
January 30, 2017
When I started sponsoring in 2006 I wrote so many letters, sent photos, handwritten letters as well, DP's, SNGs and now I write about 4 times a year. I know it's no excuse and my girls are always telling me that they miss me and my news. My working life & social life  is just so hectic.
Missing user
January 30, 2017
With my first child, Geraldine, I hand wrote letters every time she wrote back.  With Clarance, I write her once a month, just a little update on how things are going for me and giving her encouragement.  With her, I tend to use the online tool more with just because it's more convenient. 
debbies
January 30, 2017 in reply to MackyMack
Macky, of course, all of this varies not just by SOA, but SAC as well, but generally if the child/youth is required to reply to the sponsors' letter, then volunteer would set-up an appointment time for them to go to the community center to pick-up and reply to the letter.  If they do not have to reply, then they are notified that they have a letter, but it is up to them when they want to come in and pick it up since there is not rush to get a reply back to Missouri. 
Missing user
January 31, 2017
I write every Friday. Or.......Friday-ish.... Now that I have 5 kids instead of 4, Francis and Leslie overlap and I write them on the same day. It averages to about once a month per kid. I also send Birthday and Christmas cards and a postcard at the start of each season. I always used to mean to write a lot, but with my first kids, I would go long stretches between. Then I'd get a letter from... Usually Elizabeth but Edison on occasion, saying she missed my letters and I'd feel guilty and write more for a while but then I'd start forgetting again. And that was the cycle her entire sponsorship. When she graduated, I felt awful for not writing her more regularly. I resolved then to write at least once a month. So I decided to write on the 1st. But I still kept forgetting sometimes. Then.....Well......I started writing them all every week for a while so I'd remember but......When I realized I'd sent Joyce 12 letters before receiving her first, I decided that was a bit much. Then as if in confirmation of this, a few weeks after this realization, CI added in a response to another question I had that they suggest not writing more than once a month because they don't want to overwhelm the children. So yeah..... I still write every week but to one kid at a time now. So I don't forget but they don't have their houses overflowing with letters. I think Ariana misses the weekly letters though, but she'll be a teenager soon so she won't have time for that many letters anymore either. She was little at the time, so getting a stack of letters each time probably gave her bragging rights or something. I dunno.
Missing user
February 2, 2017
I try to write to my girl in India about once a month.  With the first two I sponsored, I did write letters, but only sporadically.  With the last one I told myself I wanted to do better.  Sometimes it is just a postcard or a card with a few words written on it, along with a photo or two.  At least she knows I am thinking about her, and if the messages are short then hopefully the burden on the translators isn’t too much even if I write monthly.  I’m not exactly sure how far my girl is from the CI center.  Hopefully it isn’t too much of an imposition on her or her family to pick up my letters.  I guess I just assumed the kids were picking up the letters when they were at the center for whatever programs they are participating in.
Missing user
February 3, 2017
I used to write sporadically, then I tried to write monthly, but with the number of kids that I have, I had trouble keeping up and just wouldn't do it.  Then, I was aiming for 4 times per year, but injured my wrist and couldn't do four at a time.  I don't know why I didn't think of splitting them up, but instead went to 3 kids per month, so 3 letters per year.  I've switched now to writing 4 times a year again, but split the kids into two letter-writing sessions per month!  This doesn't include sending the birthday and Christmas cards though.
Missing user
February 3, 2017
I don't hold myself to any set times to write, but I just checked and I seem to write about 6-7 times per year. Not always every other month, just when it occurs to me​, I have something to say, want to respond to something they've written in a letter or want to send them pictures I've received of them with EGs. I try to remember to include at least one picture per letter (even if it's just from the same set of 3 from one EG, can send one at a time per letter so they show up larger for the kids to see). It seems like to me that not only is it really fun to receive a letter, but especially as a child to receive one and be able to point at it and say "that's me!". I tried hand writing letters early on but now I'm nearly exclusively using the online writing forms. They're so cute and quick and don't require postage or paper.
auntiemay
February 6, 2017
I write a few letters each day, so my kids get a letter each month, or sometimes two a month. ​I write to a lot of kids all over due to various programs I write for, etc.  But I always write in the child's language when I can (if it's related to Spanish). It's a few hours a day on letters, and I can do this when my own kids are at school. I prefer hand-written though sometimes I will do an e-letter. I love to write!! I use a file system to keep track.
Missing user
March 6, 2017 in reply to Missing user
Same here with the online letter-writing tool - I use the CI templates exclusively because they're cute and convenient and it's very easy to upload pictures. I might send a hand-written Christmas card to each child this year if I have my act together and start early.
Missing user
March 6, 2017 in reply to auntiemay
What an organized - AND LOVING person you are!
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