For our sponsors - writing your sponsored friend

Exchanging letters

Hope for a Family sponsorship is a true exchange of cultures, understanding and love. What better way to learn about each other than in a letter?

Sponsored members write letters twice a year, usually in the fall and spring, and send a Christmas greeting. The project will include a translation of the letters for you if your friend does not write in English.

CFCA does not require sponsors to write their sponsored friends, but does encourage sponsors to write if they are able. Sponsored friends really look forward to receiving letters as a way to get to know their sponsor. We suggest writing at least once a year to offer encouragement and build a friendship. Please write more if you choose. If you are unable to write a letter, postcards or greeting cards let sponsored friends know you are thinking of them.

Vanessa in Costa Rica holds a letter and photo from her sponsor, Theresa.

What to write about

Correspondence is a two-way street. Offer information about these topics in your letters, and ask your friend to share his or her information.

• Offer encouragement

• School and family

• Your background

• Special holiday traditions

• Favorites (foods, colors, memories, sports, etc.)

• Interests, hobbies and pets

• Weather and geography

We have a great blog that outlines step-by-step suggestions on "How to write your sponsored friend" >

Or print off our sample letter form to use for writing your sponsored friend.

Language differences

Please write as legibly as possible. The CFCA project serving your sponsored friend will be happy to translate your letters. If you read Spanish and do not need us to translate your friend’s letters from Spanish to English, please let us know as this will help save on translation costs.

Online translation services or computer software can create confusing translations because they do not recognize common expressions. Please do not use them. Letters translated in this manner often must be returned for clarification.

Mailing your letter

CFCA sponsors write to their sponsored children.

We provide pre-printed labels to make it easy for you to write your friend. Once your letter is

complete, affix the label identifying your sponsored friend to the letter and enclose it in an envelope. Use the mailing label on the outside of the envelope. For your privacy, please use CFCA's address as your return address. (We even provide a label for that.):

CFCA

1 Elmwood Avenue

Kansas City, KS 66103

Please do not include contact information of any kind in your letter or on your envelope.

Send your letter via international airmail, unless it is to be sent to a U.S. mailing address. Postage rates change from time to time, so ask your local post office or visit the U.S. Postal Service website.

Request pre-printed mailing labels

Delivery

It takes about eight to 10 weeks for your friend to receive your letter, including the time it takes for the project to translate and deliver it. The same is true in reverse: it takes about eight to 10 weeks to deliver your friend's letter to the project, translate it and mail it to you. Because of this extended timeline, your letters may cross in the mail.

M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Central) Questions? Call us at 800.875.6564 or 913.384.6500 or email us at mail@cfcausa.org