What is Child Sponsorship?

Child sponsorship is a program enabling individuals to financially support a ‘child at risk’ in a third-world country on a monthly basis.

How much does it cost?

Sponsorship at a cost of $49 per month contributes towards the child’s food, housing, clothing, medical care and education.

What percentage of the sponsorship money goes to administration?

Absolutely NONE. Be A HERO’s administrative costs for the child sponsorship program are covered by our donors to the Hero Partnership and Pillar Programs (specifically designated for administration). This is something we are thankful for and VERY proud of 🙂

What methods of payment do you accept?

Sponsorship payments can be made monthly ($49) or in one lump sum for the full year ($588).

Payment options for monthly support:

1. Automatic Withdrawal – provide us with a VOID cheque, and we will withdraw your sponsorship on a set day each month. You can choose to have your sponsorship debited from your account on either the 5th or 20th of each month. This is our preferred method of payment as it is the lowest cost to process.
2. Credit Card – provide us with authorization to charge your credit card each month for the amount of your sponsorship. We accept payment through Visa, MasterCard and American Express and you can choose to have the payment charge on either the 5th, 20th, or 28th of each month. This is convenient and easy, but Be A Hero must pay a processing fee to each credit card company.
3. Post-Dated Cheques – provide us with 12 post-dated cheques.

Payment options for annual support:

1. Credit Card – provide us with authorization to process the sponsorship in one lump sum for the year in advance.
2. Cheque – provide us with a cheque to sponsor for the full year in one lump sum.
3. Click the “Donate” button located in the top right corner of this page and indicate which home you would like to sponsor in the comment section. If you are looking to sponsor a specific child for the year, don’t forget to leave your contact information so we can reach you to designate a child that needs sponsoring.

Why does the Be A HERO sponsorship program cost more than some of the other sponsorship programs?

The vast majority of children in the Be A HERO sponsorship program are orphans, living in residential care at one of our children’s homes. Many of the other sponsorship programs provide for children who are living in a foster family situation, or with their own parents who are unable to financially provide for the child’s needs. As you can imagine, residential care is more expensive as care-givers, cooks, and other staff must be paid, and campuses must be maintained. Frankly, sponsorship does not cover the entire cost for children in residential care, but it sure helps!

Does each child have only one sponsor?

Our goal is to have each child fully sponsored. In the past, we offered a sponsorship program where one sponsor could commit to a higher donation amount monthly (Full sponsorship) to cover all the costs associated with the child, or a lessor amount (Partial Sponsorship) to cover a child’s basic needs. If the child was sponsored under partial sponsorship they may have had two partial sponsors to ensure all their needs were covered financially.

Currently, we offer one level of Sponsorship at $49 monthly to ensure all of the child/home’s needs are being met, and each child only has one sponsor.

Does the child personally receive the sponsorship money?

No, the sponsorship funds are sent monthly in one lump sum to the children’s home Directors, who then purchase food, clothing, pay school fees, pay care-givers and other staff, procure medical care etc. for the child.

I know someone who has an orphanage in another country. Can I sponsor one of their children through Be A HERO?

No, unfortunately we cannot facilitate this. We are required to have legal agreements in place with every Home that we fund, and we have strict reporting and accounting demands that must be met.

Will I Recieve A Tax Receipt

Be A HERO is a registered charity in Canada and USA. We will issue you a tax receipt early in the following year of your donation. We are in the process of obtaining tax deductibility in Australia.

How Do I Get Started?

1. If you would like to authorize payment on your credit card, just click here for monthly or yearly and fill out your contact information and payment details. We will mail you the photo and short biography of a child, and deduct the charge from your credit card each month.
2. If you would like to pay using automatic withdrawal, MAIL a VOID cheque to us, along with a note requesting to sponsor a child. We will mail you the photo and short biography of a child, and deduct the charge from your bank account each month.
3. To pay with post-dated cheques, please MAIL your cheques to us, along with a note requesting to sponsor a child. Upon receipt we will mail you the photo and a short biography of a child, and process your cheque each month.
4. Annual sponsorship by credit card – click here and fill out your contact information and payment details. We will mail you the photo and short biography of a child, and deduct the charge from your credit card.
5. Annual sponsorship by cheque – please MAIL your cheque to us, along with a note requesting to sponsor a child. Upon receipt we will mail you the photo and a short biography of a child, and process your cheque.

Can I correspond with my child?

We try to facilitate communication for those sponsors that wish to correspond with their sponsored child. Be A HERO is working to make correspondence easier between our sponsors and our children. Many of our homes are in non-English speaking countries, and they may not have a staff person who can do the necessary translating. Another hindrance is that they don’t have access to such things as digital cameras or email, (or even electricity!) which means that we have to wait for one of our staff or friends to travel to the Home and take updated photos of the children. In all cases, we will provide you with a mailing address.

Can I visit my child?

Yes, we can help you arrange to visit your child. Please note that it would be best to start the planning for your trip at least three months in advance, as different countries have different requirements. The larger the group traveling, the more time we need to facilitate them.

Do I get to choose which country I sponsor from? Can I specify a boy or a girl?

Yes, we will do our best to accommodate your wishes.

Does that mean that children who are only partially sponsored don’t go to school or get medical care?

Our sponsorship program covers all costs associated with caring for a child. Under our previous program, children homes ensured that every child partially sponsored went to school and received medical care as needed. The money would just come from non-designated funds. When all children were fully sponsored, the non-designated funds could be used for other necessities such as school equipment, furnishings, bedding, etc.

Which countries can I sponsor children from?

Be A Hero offers our sponsorship program in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Swaziland, India and the Philippines.

What is the difference between Home and Child Sponsorship?

Through Child Sponsorship, sponsors develop a relationship with their sponsor child and provide for their child’s individual needs at their home. Home sponsors are not assigned one child in particular, but sponsor the home as a whole, helping to financially support all children on campus. Both Home and Child Sponsors receive monthly updates from the Home and quarterly letters from the children.