How to Sponsor a Child

Getting started with sponsorship

Thinking about sponsoring a child, but not sure where to begin? Here’s everything you need to know.

Child Sponsorship is a unique and heart-warming experience, one that makes a real difference in the life of a child, for just £30 per month.

Sponsoring a child is a simple but powerful act. You’ll receive letters, regular updates and photos from your sponsored child, as well as updates from their community. Meanwhile, we get to work making positive changes in the community, such as installing clean water taps and improving education and healthcare.

Together, we help a community in one of the toughest parts of the world, and you see the change through the eyes of one special child.

How to sponsor a child in three simple steps

In just a few clicks you can change a child's life forever.

1. Find a child to support

You select a child to sponsor, or let us choose for you.

2. Sign up with ease

Complete our simple online sign-up form.

3. A warm welcome

You'll receive a letter from the child you've sponsored.

Start your sponsorship journey

Sponsoring a child: how does it work?

You choose a child to sponsor

When you visit our Sponsor a Child page, we’ll introduce you to a child who needs a sponsor today. If you’d prefer to specifically sponsor a boy or girl, or a child from a particular country, you can do so using the filter options. Many of our sponsors like to choose children the same age as their own, so they can build a relationship too.

You can also choose to see which children have been waiting the longest for a sponsor like you.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to choose, you can sign up to be Chosen by a child instead.

Children in Kenya lining up for a school meal, as part of the community feeding programme.

We create a plan

With our 75 years’ of experience, we've found that the best way to create lasting change is to work with communities to help them break free from the cycle of poverty. We make sure that when it's time for us to move on and help a new community, they can continue to thrive.

With input from community members, we make a plan to meet their needs. Children face various dangers, like child marriage, lack of clean drinking water and limited education, and the support of sponsors means we work to put an end to these issues for good.

Children writing letters to their sponsors

Build a meaningful connection

We'll send you a welcome pack within the first 2 weeks of you sponsoring a child. You’ll learn more about your sponsored child and find information on how to write to them if you would like to.

You'll also receive details about your My Sponsorship account, which lets you stay connected with your sponsored child via our website portal or app.

Many sponsors chose to share this experience with their own children, so that they can build a friendship with a child in another country while learning the value of helping others.

Read more: Writing to your sponsored child

Woman laughing during a World Vision training session in a church in Kenya.

Your support lasts

Your sponsorship is crucial in providing immediate and lasting support. Our goal is always to help families and communities reach a place where they no longer need our assistance. Typically, we stay with a community for at least ten years, allowing you to sponsor a child throughout much of their childhood, if you wish to.

We understand that circumstances change, so you can cancel your sponsorship at any time. Thanks to our community-focused solutions, your sponsored child will continue to receive support, regardless of how long you stay with us.

“I would say to someone who is thinking about sponsoring a child - go ahead and do it, it is the most life changing thing ever!”

Shemi

Child Sponsor

Sponsor a child

Sponsoring a child FAQs

Child sponsorship at World Vision connects you with a child while supporting long-term, community-led programmes that help children, families and communities thrive.

Your monthly donation is pooled with others to fund initiatives like clean water, education, healthcare and child protection - designed in partnership with local communities to create lasting change.

As a sponsor, you’ll receive updates about your child via the World Vision My Sponsorship App and can build a meaningful connection through messages and shared experiences.

Learn more about how child sponsorship works
All of World Vision's work begins with listening to communities in need. Community leaders work with us to identify the most vulnerable children and families who will benefit from Child Sponsorship.
We work with national governments and other international agencies to identify the regions and communities that are most in need and where the most vulnerable children live. We then meet with community leaders and the wider community to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and the opportunities that exist for them and we develop a long-term plan together, to break the cycle of poverty. Find out more about how Child Sponsorship works.
Sponsoring a chid starts from just £30 a month, that’s less than £1 a day. A small donation that creates a big impact because our sponsorship model is community-led, so your support extends beyond one child and will help transform a whole community.

What does your money achieve?

• Clean water systems are built and maintained.

• Schools are equipped and teachers trained.

• Clinics are stocked and health workers supported.

• Families learn new skills to earn a stable income.

By strengthening the whole community, children are more likely to thrive – and stay thriving – even after sponsorship ends. It’s a smart, sustainable way to help.
The donation you give doesn't go directly to your sponsored child or family.

For maximum impact and efficiency, your monthly donations are combined with those of other sponsors to ensure consistent support for your sponsored child and their community, as well as other sponsorship communities around the world. This means your donations go much further.