Child Gifts
Send a Special Gift for your Sponsored Child.
Compassion welcomes your generosity and kindness. We offer the following guidelines to help you plan your gift and ensure it reaches your child.
- How do I send a Gift?
- What Gifts can I send?
- How much should I give?
- Other and Undesignated Gifts
How do I send a gift to my sponsored child?
Compassion is delighted to help you send special gifts to your sponsored child. We do not mail packages, because parcel delivery in developing countries is unreliable and expensive. Instead, we encourage you to send a monetary gift to your child to purchase an appropriate gift locally. You can also send monetary gifts for a specific family or project.
Gifts for your child can mark special occasions such as birthdays and graduation. Most children write to thank their sponsors and say what they have purchased.
Compassion Canada will forward 100 per cent of the sum you donate to the child, family or project you designate. If you have a specific gift in mind, you can mention it to us and we will pass your suggestion along. Local project staff will assist children and their families to ensure that funds are used appropriately.
What gifts can I send with my letters?
Compassion can only send flat paper items with your letters because of customs restrictions. You can enclose small gifts such as postcards, bookmarks, photos, stamps, stickers or pages from colouring books.
While these gifts may not seem like much, they often thrill the children who receive them. Postcards of Canadian animals and nature are great favourites.
How much should I give?
To help you make positive gifts that will meet needs, Compassion has set the following guidelines:
- Birthday Gift: A gift of $15 to $40 CAN, once per year.
Staff and parents assist the child in choosing age appropriate gifts to bring some joy and fulfill some needs at this special time of year.
- General Child Gift: A gift of $15 to $40 CAN, once per year.
Child gifts are used to meet specific needs of your sponsored child, as identified by the parents and project staff.
- Family Gift: A gift of $40 to $450 CAN once per year. Family gifts are used to meet specific needs of the whole family, including your sponsored child’s siblings. As with all gifts, purchases are made with the counsel of the project staff to ensure appropriate items are chosen.
- Project Gift: A gift of $50 to $1,200 CAN once per year. Project gifts supply items over and above regular sponsorship funding that would accentuate the experience for all children in a project.
- Graduation Gift: A one-time gift of $25 to $450 CAN. A graduation gift is a token of love that allows your sponsored child to know you are proud of him or her for accomplishing so much.
- Christmas Gift Fund: We suggest a gift of $25 or more per sponsored child. At Christmas time we pool all monies received into our Christmas Gift Fund, to ensure that all children in our programs worldwide receive a gift and feel valued.
Maximum gift amounts have been set to ensure accurate reporting and accountability of funds, and to provide a measure of equality between sponsored children and families, reducing potential jealousy or theft.
You can include these gifts with your automatic payments. Child gifts over $40 will be considered a family gift, unless specifically designated as a final graduation gift.
For more information contact Compassion Canada toll free at 1-800-563-5437 or email info@compassion.ca
Other Gifts
Compassion will direct undesignated gifts under $15 to our Partners in Development Fund. We will place monies received for special medical needs in our Medical Fund, and administer the gift to a designated child according to our Medical Fund Guidelines