There are two ways to begin providing support for a child in need.

1. Go to the "Sponsor a Child" page on our website. You can read about our various communities and programs, and find a child in need that you would like to help.
2. Communicate directly with our home office. We will answer all your questions and help you find a child. Call 770-330-0483, or email us at jane@brightpointforchildren.org and we will contact you.

We customize every BrightPoint Program to meet the specific needs of the children within a BrightPoint Community. As a result, sponsorship amounts vary by program. Typically, amounts range between $30 and $39 per month. The amount will be clearly stated during the sponsorship sign-up process.

Your sponsorship money has a direct impact on the child you are sponsoring. In some cases, your support also helps other children within that same community and program.

• Basic Needs Sponsorships – Your support will be combined with other sponsor support to purchase and provide basic needs items for every sponsored child within the program.
• Primary School Sponsorships – Your support will be combined with other sponsor support to pay for education needs at the school. Your child and many other children will benefit.
• Secondary School Sponsorships – Your support will directly fund secondary school costs for your child

Over 90 percent of your monthly sponsorship money goes directly to support your child's program. The majority of BrightPoint operating costs in the U.S. are funded separately through General Contributions and other Fundraising Initiatives.

The easiest way is through your MasterCard or Visa debit or credit card. Your child sponsorship will be charged to your card monthly, ensuring your support will reach your child in a timely manner. We also have a check payment option for your convenience.

YES! BrightPoint for Children, Inc. is an approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Monthly Donations and any General Donations are tax-deductible. All donors will receive a year-end contribution statement for income tax purposes.

The primary means of communicating with your child is the "Communication Page" of our website. As a BrightPoint sponsor, you can log in and send messages to your child. BrightPoint has set up various ways for sponsored children to receive your communication, dependant on availability of electricity and the Internet within each community.

BrightPoint will also notify you when mission teams will be visiting your sponsored child's community. You can send a more personal note to your child, hand-delivered by the team.

BrightPoint encourages sponsored children to communicate back to their sponsors, and we strive to make that possible. However, factors that impact the timeliness and frequency of communications include availability of electricity and Internet, access to BrightPoint staff, and the individual child's writing skills, need for translation and school situation. (Some children attend boarding school and return to their communities only three times per year.)

Not at this time. We hope to establish a gift program in 2008 that will enable gifts to be received by sponsored children on an equivalent basis.

While it may seem like a good idea with the best of heart-felt intentions, sending individual gifts creates significant challenges within the communities. These challenges include cultural issues, taxes and duties, delivery/pick-up, greed, envy and community tension.

We are currently working in Kenya and India. We plan to expand into additional countries in the future, under a strategic and managed growth strategy.

We develop customized programs for a community based on input and prioritization from the Leadership of that community. The community's Leadership evaluates every child's needs and then determines which children will be supported by the program.

Yes. We encourage you to visit your BrightPoint child, an experience that will certainly be life changing for you and your sponsored child! Short-term mission trips are available to every BrightPoint Community through our Strategic Partners.

Our strategic partner for Kenya is The 410 Bridge (www.410bridge.org). Please visit their website for trip dates and other information.

Our processes and controls ensure all sponsorship money is used as intended and accounted for include the following:

• We have staff is in place to ensure proper use of funds in every country where we work.
• In every community where we work, Leadership Councils account for the funds and supplies they receive.
• We require proper reporting by every BrightPoint Community for program participation and continuation.

The length of time that a sponsorship lasts depends on the type of sponsorship and the child's individual situation. A Secondary School Sponsorship will last until the child graduates. A Basic Needs Sponsorship continues until the child can become self-sustaining. We hope that sponsors will commit for at least one year.

When the needs of a child are met, we will notify you and you will have the option of supporting another child or stopping your support. Either way, your support will have changed the life of a child!

You can discontinue your Child Sponsorship at any time by notifying us via email or phone. Once we are notified, we begin the process of finding a new sponsor so that the child's support can continue. The more lead time we receive on the discontinuation, the easier it will be to find a new sponsor and continue support without interruption. Thank you in advance for your understanding.