Make a Resolution to Change a Life

Make it your New Year’s resolution to change a life for the better.

Resolutions are famous for being hard to keep. We promise ourselves we’ll change our diet, read more books, learn a new hobby. And then, more often than not, our commitment fades.

That’s normal – we’re human, and we’re just doing our best. But what happens when our commitment involves more than the typical trappings of self-improvement? What happens when we take the desire to make a change in our lives and take it one step further? We all want to be and do a little better in 2020, but maybe being and doing better doesn’t have to be a one-person business. Maybe it’s about connection.

This year, we challenge you to make that connection with a new year’s resolution to change someone else’s life – through child sponsorship.

Here’s how it works: You choose a child to sponsor, and we’ll connect the two of you. You’ll learn about her family, where she lives and what she likes to do. Your monthly sponsorship gift will be combined with other resources in her community so that nobody gets left behind.

She’ll write you letters, and you can write back, sharing your life with her and providing support from afar. And we’ll be there all along the way to guide you and share updates on her progress so that you can see with your own eyes the difference you’re making.

It might not seem like much – honestly, a monthly child sponsorship costs less than a nice dinner out – but your support can mean the world to a child living in poverty. Sponsorship funds help make sure kids they have what they need to grow into healthy, happy adults – everything from clean water to a safe school environment. And children thrive on the rich sense of connection they get from interacting with someone who cares for them. A kid is a kid, no matter where they live.

Want a little preview of how child sponsorship feels? Just listen to these sponsors and kids talk about their relationship and the difference it has made in their lives.

Jussara, 8, of Brazil, holds a card she received
from her sponsor.

“The best part about having a sponsor is that they love us, care about how we are doing and give us attention
though messages and gifts,” says Jussara. “This makes me really happy and thankful.”

Gift meets his sponsor, Marie, for the first time
when she visited his community in Zambia.

“I receive letters from her and some cards, but seeing my sponsor in person has made me feel that we have a real relationship and that
she really cares for me,” Gift says. “I will tell all my friends about how I sat next to my sponsor and spoke to her."

19-year-old Mumbi from Kenya, who lives in a house
with no electricity, designed this solar-powered
light with her sponsor’s support.

Mumbi wanted to become an electrical engineer, but many people discouraged her. So she reached out to her sponsor for help.
“Her response is what reignited my passion and made me decide that nothing would hold me back," she says.
"She made me believe that my dreams were valid.”

Sponsor Anne Humes holds a binder filled with photos and letters
from the 33 children she’s sponsored with ChildFund since 1957.

“The fact that somebody wants to know how their health is, asks about their family members, shows curiosity
about the place in which they are living – in other words, a supportive relationship on a continuous
basis – is so important to a child’s growth,” Mrs. Humes says.

Anna Catarina and her sponsored child Joao share
a hug during her visit to his community in Brazil.

“When I became a sponsor, I saw it more as a charity activity,” Anna Catarina says. “With time, I realized it was much more!
I was able to witness how sponsorship makes all the difference in the life of a child. When a kid knows that
someone likes them and cares for them, even from far away, it makes a huge difference.”

These are the kinds of relationships you can build when you become a sponsor. This is the kind of good you can do for another person that makes your life fuller, too. Make your New Year’s resolution to be a better person by changing another person’s life for the better – sponsor a child today.