Need some advice about sponsoring a child from my fellow seniors?

You can go to the "Charity Navigator" to look up organizations to see how they rate & if they are any alerts.

Such as "Feed the Children" has some good ratings but they also show current investigations pending into that charity. [ http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=sear... ]

I have sponsored 2 children, years apart through what was formerly the "Christian Children's Fund" & currently "Child Fund International." I was very impressed. I had a lot of contact w/ my 1st child b/c he was interested in writing to me so much. Plus the staff at his location always gave me a monthly report too. I began at $15/mo. During my years, that price increased. I wrote to tell them I did not know if I could keep to a higher commitment. That did not drop sponsorship. They let me stay at the original costs. My sponsor son would write & tell me about school supplies he had gotten or much needed clothing. So I know that the money was being pooled for his good such as school & meals, but also for personal items. The letter translations were true as I cold read some of the Latin based languages that my sponsored wrote to me. Most fulfilling was when I gave extra above the monthly pym'ts & ear marked them for specifics. I was sent photos of the appliances or buildings that I was helping to fund. And I knew these were true photos b/c they were Polaroids which showed buildings that were not in previous photos. Once I gave around $30 for the mother of my sponsored child to buy an old wringer washer that they had converted to human power since there was no electricity. Not only was 100% of my funds spent as asked, but it also provided her with a new form of income for her family. Another time, I had saved all year & had an extra $300 to sent B4 I quit my sponsorship. I asked that they use it to improve the community class room however the teacher's chose. To my surprise, I got back photos that they had build on a whole other room. And it was full of children that had formerly been denied an education for lack of space. They were waving at me & holding up a sign w/ my name. My 2nd child, years later, was of similar experience except he was too little to write (as I had selected when applying for sponsorship). This worked out good for me b/c I was busy working & didn't have as much time to dedicate, but I'd done this so that my children (as asked by them) could participate in helping a needy child.

Another organization that I was pleased w/ was "Covenant House." The help teens who have run-a-way, been molested & abandoned, human trafficked, etc. to rebuild their life. They don't offer sponsorship, but back when I was donating (B4 the days of internet), I'd write letters to staff volunteering to be a pen pal to a youth they selected. I guess they allowed it & helped b/c I had nothing to hide. I told them I wanted my letters to read by a staff member working w/ the youth to determine if what I had written was appropriate for that teen at that time. If they deemed so, then pass it along. They'd forward letters on the condition that the teen did not make any direct requests for money & such. There wasn't much correspondence, but the few letters I participated in were nice. I found the organization to be one that worked with me. [ http://www.covenanthouse.org/ ]

Both of these experiences are 20-30 years old. They were good enough to remember fondly. I think as long as you attempt to make contact or ask for a a specific contact to have a regular connection & who remembers you then you can get as much or little as you want out of it.

There is a great organization, I think it is still in operation, call the Christian Children's Fund, or something like that. They are the most respected in the field and have a reputation for actually getting a higher percentage of the donations to the child than any other charity. Otherwise I would say donate to the missions outreach of your local church. If you don't have a church contact Baptist Missions.

Since being on SS prohibits me from the interest in sponsoring a child I'm not up on any links or phone numbers for you to contact. I do know that our radio stations here have published a list plus given us websites around Christmastime as to who is best to donate to and who uses the money foolishly. I think the list came from our state government. Maybe a search in the search engine would provide the info you need to make an educated guess as to who to help and who to stay away from.

There are much better organizations who dont waste a lot of money on high paid execs. Check out GuideStar to make a better choice. If you want to help children in the USA all you have to do is look locally at childrens homes or agencies. Personally, I think charity begins at home and that we have plenty of needy children in the USA who could use your help.

I know most money donated does not make it to the needy, no matter what the cause. I donate time, but not nearly enough. I always feel more in the spirit in the fall and around the holidays. and tend to slack off after the first of the year. I want to donate a few hours a week at the animal shelter, but what I have in mind is not what they need help with. Then, there is the problem of me wanting to get attached. I am going to stop at the convalescent home later, thanks for the inspiration.

Why don't you just help some of your own family members if you have any or those in your community? There was a time when families took care of their own without the need for all the welfare programs.

I do not trust any of these organizations that seek donations.Keep your money at home.

Call the Department of Social Services in your County. They will be able to help you find some great organizations in the USA -- it would be from actually helping out in person (which would be great!) to helping out with donations, food, money, etc.

One of the best programs my husband and I ever found was Big Brothers or Big Sisters -- we both joined that and along with our daughter, it was one of the best experiences of our lives. We are all still in touch. And we are seniors, our daughter is in her 30's, and the 2 kids are in their 30's and both still have the T-shirts we gave them when we first started out!

Is there a reason you're ignoring children in your own TOWN? Be a BIG BROTHER or BIG SISTER or be a MENTOR to a child in your town. I don't understand why people get all excited about kids overseas. We have THOUSANDS of kids in our own country that need help. What gets me is that America well send doctors all over the world to take care of people, but allow our OWN children to die because they DON'T HAVE INSURANCE! That really pisses me off!

And yes, I DO work with kids here (I mentor 2 boys). My son and his wife adopted two AMERICAN kids (brother and sister). So, don't even start.

I think the money should be kept @ home..we have lots of needy kids in the USA. Check with Catholic Charities or the Salvation Army. $400,000 is a lot of money for one person that is working for a charity to earn.

Check with the Boys and Girls club in your own community. They always have a need for volunteers and donations.