HOW SPONSORSHIP WORKS
Partner one-to-one with a new friend
Sponsorship connects two individuals across geographic, economic and social boundaries. It enables the development of a unique relationship based on listening, encouragement and mutual respect.
Sponsoring a child: What your sponsorship provides
Self-directed support
The child’s family prioritizes what they need most and how they will use your financial support. Local staff meet with them to listen and identify how Unbound can help them achieve their goals. Families typically prioritize education and needs like food, housing and health care.
Encouragement
Child sponsorship provides a platform for two people to trust, share and learn. Over time, a special bond can develop as a sponsor and their sponsored friend “walk with” each other and make a positive impact in each other’s lives.
Community
The child’s family becomes a member of the Unbound community and participates in the local program. Mothers or guardians of sponsored children join small support groups and often become leaders by serving their communities and planning program activities.
Sponsoring an elder: How your sponsorship helps
Basic needs
Sponsorship provides steady support to older adults living in poverty through direct cash assistance or other resources for needs like nutrition, medical care and housing.
Fellowship
So often, aging populations around the world are isolated, forgotten and underappreciated. At Unbound, we celebrate the invaluable wisdom, joy and courage that elders bring to their communities. Many sponsored elders enjoy the health benefits and camaraderie of exercise classes, cultural dance, handicrafts and more.
Hope
Communicating through letters and photos allows the relationship between sponsor and elder to grow and gives encouragement to both. Elders sponsored through Unbound age with honor and dignity knowing they have friends around the world who care for them.
How it works
A sponsor chooses a friend and commits to investing in the journey with them.
A one-to-one personal relationship develops through the exchange of letters and photos.
The sponsor provides financial support that helps their friend and family build a path out of poverty.
The sponsored friend becomes part of a community of local staff and other sponsored members.
Transformational relationships
While the financial gift of sponsorship is a great help to sponsored friends, it's only part of the reason that Unbound sponsorship works. Personal relationships have been at the heart of Unbound since 1981 and have transformed countless lives of sponsored friends and sponsors.
Getting to know your friend
You’ll receive personal communication from your friend multiple times per year. You’ll learn about their culture, interests and goals, and see the impact of your sponsorship.
Writing your friend
Words of encouragement mean the world to sponsored friends. As a sponsor, you can mail postal letters or quickly and easily share a short note or photo electronically through your online account and Unbound’s mobile app.
Fostering your friendship
As you walk with your friend through sponsorship, you'll become important parts of each other’s lives. When the day comes that your friend is ready to leave the program, you'll be able to partner with someone new who is waiting for a sponsor like you.
"It’s relationship building, it’s connections, it’s bonding. It’s having a communal experience across oceans, and that makes it more than just ‘Oh, I wrote a check.’ It makes it very personal. It makes it a much more fulfilling experience because of the relationship."
-Rachael wohletz
"Our relationships with these precious elders have taught me lasting lessons about what I take for granted. Clean, running water. Electricity. Knowing where my next meal is coming from. Reliable health care. But they’ve also opened my eyes to the value I misplace on things that are insignificant from an eternal perspective."
-alissa heirigs
Sponsorship that works
Since 1981, sponsored members have built their paths out of poverty thanks to the support of sponsors like you. In fact, we’re so confident in the impact your sponsorship makes, we invite you to join us on an Unbound Awareness Trip to see firsthand and even meet your sponsored friend.
Unbound is committed to ongoing learning and ensuring that our programs make a positive impact in the lives of sponsored members and their families. Learn how we evaluate the success of our programs.
