My Decision

I have decided to sponsor an child around the world. Being a college student and not having the funds to move across seas to change the world, I thought this would be a great way to make big changes through small investments. A woman I work with sponsors eight (eight!...I call her Pam Plus Eight) children from Children's International (link). The site allows users to pick the child they'd like to sponsor. Each child has a bio that includes their hobbies, siblings, interests, birthday, languages spoken, and family's monthly income. Some of the incomes total to my receipt after a normal Wegman's run; it'a an extremely humbling experience that tugs at your heartstrings. The hard part is picking a child because they are all adorable and in need of financial and emotional support. Once you've picked a child (or children), you receive his or her picture along with a family biography (including siblings' names and ages, parent's occupations, materials of the house, etc.). A minimum  of 2 letters are exchanged between the child and sponsor which is a great way to build a forever lasting impact on both individuals' lives. I can't wait to get mail!



Reasons why I decided to sponsor a child:

(1) I am an only child. This has been a blessing and a bummer all rolled into one. It allowed me to build an extremely strong and close bond with my parents (we're buds), but the bittersweetnes was that I never experienced that brother/sister relationship. I always wanted to loan my few years of experience and guidance to a younger soul. 

(2) I am fortunate enough to fiance $20 a month for someone who needs it more than I do. My goal is to support this child completely on my own with no help from my parents. $20 towards medical, education, food, clothes and shelter expenses > $20 towards a new dress at Target ...No brainer

(3) I'm passionate about making a direct impact on a child's life. I want to have that connection and be their overseas cheerleader.

I made this decision quickly, but it has always been something I've wanted to do. Great things happen at once, right? Now the hard part: choosing a child. They are all adorable and all would be full of appreciation; I had to hold back from selecting multiple children and inviting to come live with me. I knew immediately that I wanted to sponsor a little girl. After reading Eat, Pray, Love and My Name is Najood: Age 10 and Divorced, I became so impacted and intrigued by the exotic culture that I wanted to sponsor a child from India. Plus Indian are beyond beautiful.


With that all decided, comes the toughest decision of all: selecting a child.

I can't wait!