Millions of children around the world are trapped in the cycle of poverty.The Salvation Army Child Sponsorship Program assists children in developing countries achieve their full potential.

» View Children Awaiting Sponsorship
» Overseas Child Sponsorship FAQ
» Overseas Child Sponsorship Gift Designation Form (pdf)

With the Overseas Child Sponsorship program, the Salvation Army assigns 100% of your contribution to support individual children and Army children's homes around the world. Your financial gift provides food, clothing, shelter, medical care and an education to children in need. Without your help many children would face a bleak future without these necessities.

How does child sponsorship work?

Your tax deductible sponsorship of $240 per year (paid annually, biannually, quarterly or monthly) will enable The Salvation Army to provide a child in a developing country with direct assistance for education and general care. The funds are sent to the local Salvation Army Headquarters which monitors the needs of each child and their situation.

You can also choose to become a ‘Discretionary Sponsor’ and support an entire institution, rather than an individual child. Discretionary sponsors receive a yearly newsletter from the institution giving information on events and the activities of the children.

How are children’s needs determined?

We assist children in the full time care of The Salvation Army or attending Salvation Army schools and day care centers who:
• Have parents who are poverty-stricken, low-income, unemployed and/or single
• Are female and have been rejected because of their gender
• Suffer physical disabilities, often as a result of disease
• Experience any combination of the above factors.

Some children are able to continue with further education and, with sponsor consent, these students can be supported up to 22 years of age if they do well academically. On completion of studies they remain in Salvation Army care until suitable employment and accommodation is found. Many have no home or have been rejected by family.

Why sponsor through The Salvation Army?

Our program is small and runs on very simple lines. We handle all sponsorships within Salvation Army-operated children’s homes, institutions, schools and day care centers. Your full donation is distributed through The Salvation Army in the recipient country.

As a sponsor, you will receive a photograph of the child you are supporting and a profile that includes the child’s name, date of birth, a brief history and present circumstances, along with details of any special needs your sponsored child may have. Twice each year, you will receive a newsletter from the Child Sponsorship Bureau. You can also correspond with your child by writing to our headquarters (contact details below).

Feel free to send letters, cards, photographs and gifts like stickers and bookmarks, however, we do not encourage you to send parcels. Once again, please do not include your personal address on the information.

Where can you sponsor a child?

» View Children Awaiting Sponsorship

The Child Sponsorship Program currently operates in 24 countries:

The Salvation Army Child Sponsorship History

The Salvation Army Child Sponsorship program began in 1974, when Salvationists John and Mary Burn were asked by a Salvation Army missionary to find sponsorship for four Pakistani boys.
They advertised the needs of those first four boys in their Corps (church) newsletter, and by the end of the first day all the children had been sponsored. Word spread and the missionaries wrote with more and more children, while John and Mary found more and more 'parents'. Over 2,000 children are now sponsored through the program.

For more information about our current efforts please contact:
Lt. Colonel Susan Gregg
The Salvation Army
Overseas Child Sponsorship Bureau
P.O. Box 635
West Nyack, NY 10994-0635
Ph: (845) 620-7237
E-mail: Susan.Gregg@use.salvationarmy.org