In the first two years of sponsoring my child, I mailed two letters.
I felt terrible about sending so few, especially because I had received six or seven.
So why didn’t I write more letters? The answer is simple: It wasn’t convenient.
I know that is a bad excuse. The truth is, it was more convenient to sleep or hang out with friends or watch TV. I knew letter writing was important, I just never gave it my time.
Then I found out I could write my sponsored child online. Knowing I needed to step up my letter-writing game, I decided to give the online letter-writing tool a try. I am so glad I did. It was a game-changer.
If you are having a hard time writing to your sponsored child, here are four reasons to try writing online:
- It’s easier to include pictures. All my pictures are on my computer. Online, you don’t need to go to the store to print pictures. You just press upload. It takes about 30 seconds to upload and crop a picture, as opposed to the 30+ minutes you might spend going somewhere to print it.
- You can write more in less time. It takes me a long time to handwrite legibly. I can type probably four times as fast. It’s much easier to fit 15 minutes into my schedule than it is an hour.
- You have more control over your content. When I wrote my two handwritten letters, sometimes I would finish my letter and then want to change what I had written. That meant either starting over or creating ugly eraser marks. With the online letter-writing tool, you just delete and rewrite. Or, if you want to switch sections around, you can copy and paste. It’s now much easier to craft my letter exactly how I want it.
- It’s only a click away. Bookmark the Compassion website, and make sure it is next to your Facebook bookmark (or whatever website you spend the most time on). That way, when you go to spend time on your favorite site, you will see the Compassion bookmark. Then you just need to click it, log in, and start writing. Seriously, it takes only 10 seconds to get started.
Since I started using the online tool, I send a letter every one to two months. I am much more pleased with that rate. The increase in letters has also positively affected my relationship with my sponsored child.
Now my relationship with him is more personal, meaningful and fun. It feels more like an actual relationship and less like a sponsorship.
So if you’re struggling to write letters, try writing online. Letters are the primary way to let your sponsored children know you love them, and online is an easy way to do it.
To get started, log in to your Compassion account. In the Account Summary section, beneath My Messages, there is a list of the children you sponsor. Just click the name of the child you want to write to and away you go.
If you don’t have a Compassion account, you can easily create one using your donor number and email address.