Compassion Video with Transcript

Here is the latest video from Compassion, with a transcript for those who need it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmXtaLre-lI

In Compassion’s child sponsorship program, letter writing is essential for the special one to one relationship between children and sponsors.

Maria from Bangladesh just found out that she has a sponsor and eagerly writes her first letter. Child letters are sent from the projects to the field offices where they are translated. Next, in the sequence of events, child letters are grouped together in batches and are shipped with packing lists to the U.S. Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs. In other words, the child letter begins the supply chain which feeds into the GMC. The GMC receives an average of 11,000 child letters per day. In 2011, 2.9 million child letters were processed through this building.

Upon arrival, the package from Bangladesh is transported to the child sponsorship program communication department. Materials from field offices en route to partner countries are also processed in this area.

After packages are opened, letters are prioritized by date received and stored in drawers. Staff checks the packing list from the field office and verifies that all letters in the batch have arrived. The receive date is entered into the database Compass. Both Maria’s and her sponsor’s accounts will be updated to indicate that the GMC received the letter.

Child letters that need to be sent to sponsors in partner countries, such as this stack bound for the Netherlands, are sorted by country and then shipped.

Staff sorts the letters and loads the batches onto a cart according to type. To continue the workflow, members of the sponsor correspondence team exchange an empty cart for the full cart and return to the distribution center. Once in the distribution center it is taken to the ordering stationery area. Staff members order stationery for the sponsor according to the batch number. A sticky note containing the batch number and type is placed on each stack. Before moving to the next step in the process, child letters are placed in specific areas by type. Clean, stapled or manual.

Clean letters are single sheets of paper with no photos, staples or glued attachment. Stapled letters may consist of up to three sheets of paper stapled together. Glued attachments are permissible and photos or other attachments can be no larger than half a sheet. Letters that do not fit either of the previous categories are considered manual. They can consist of more than three sheets or contain larger attachments. Manual letters are placed in baskets and set on a cart to await stationery. The printing of stationery for the sponsor is based on the demand created by a child letter. Print services staff prepares to print the order. The staff member picks up the sticky note and matches the batch information to what has been entered in the computer.

Once stationery is printed, it is returned to the cart or the basket where it is matched to the correct stack of child letters. This is called an in-process quality check. It prevents the waste of time and materials down the line. Members of the sponsor services fulfillment team now bring the cart over to the inserter machine. Clean and stapled letters with their corresponding stationery are loaded into the inserter machine, which folds them, adds the return envelope, and inserts the pieces into an outer envelope. The inserter machine allows for a large number of letters to be collated in a short period of time. The machine can process approximately 200 clean letters every five minutes and processes an average of 9,500 letters each day.

Once completed, the letters flow down the line to mail services. The baskets of manual letters and stationery are prioritized by date and picked up. Staff members will verify that the names on the letters and stationery match and that the child letter contains a translation. The letters are folded and inserted into envelopes, by hand. All letters going to a sponsor in a foreign country are separated. If a letter needs to be sent to an “alert country,” where there is a chance of Christian persecution, it is mailed in a blank, white security envelope.

The mail services team acts as the GMC’s post office. A staff member picks up the trays of mail that come down the line from the sponsor services fulfillment team. Before placing the letters on the mail machine to receive postage, staff will make a quality check to ensure that all addresses are visible. Foreign addresses will be set aside to mail separately. A machine seals the envelope and applies postage. Once the letters run through the machine, the staff member will make sure each letter has been imprinted with postage. This machine can process up to 350 pieces of mail in five minutes. If there is a need, it can also print customized message at the top of the envelope.

The mail is ready to go to a third-party vendor which will sort the letters by postal code before they are mailed. Maria’s letter is now on its way to her sponsor.

Free Nativity Printables

I found a website that has free nativity printables.  Sponsored kids can cut them out, glue the figures to paper and color in a background. (In the picture below, they are glued to toilet paper rolls so they can stand - not something that would be practical for our sponsored kids. But a great idea if you have kids of your own who want to try it.)

 

Here are the links -- just click and print:

Mary & Joseph:  http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_mary_joseph.htm

Two Wisemen:  http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_2wisemen.htm

Wiseman & Shepherd:  http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_wiseman_shepherd.htm

Angel & Baby:  http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_jesus.htm

Nativity Animals:  http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f_nativity_animals.htm

Cool Stickers Sold at Zazzle.com - $5 - $8 per sheet

                 

LINKS:

South America sticker:
http://www.zazzle.com/south_american_flags_of_south_america_map_sticker-217151055142209710

Africa sticker:
http://www.zazzle.com/african_map_of_africa_flags_within_country_maps_sticker-217658927721236288

U.S. and Ethiopia crossed-flags sticker
http://www.zazzle.com/us_and_ethiopia_crossed_flags_sticker-217046187859821832

Bible Verse Card for a 6-year old with coloring page on the back

Bible Verse Card for a 12-year old

Bible Verse Card w/Coloring Page for 5-year old

Give a monetary gift to your child...

Here are the guidelines for giving a monetary gift to your Compassion International child.  Note:  100% of your gift goes to your child and their family.

How much may I give each year?

*  Birthday gift $10-$100
*  General gift $10-$100
*  Family gift $10-$1000
*  Graduation gift in final year $10-$2000

Bible Picture Cards

These cards are roughly 6x9 inches and made out of cardstock. I printed a few pictures off the Internet and taped them down with photo squares.  Easy and inexpensive, but I thought they turned out nice. 

Peacable Kingdom Press

I just love the notecards from this company.  I found mine at Barnes & Noble.

Photo Bookmarks

Today I made some bookmarks.  On the front is a flower with the kids' faces in the center.  On the back is a photo of each one in black and white.  I had them laminated at Staples -- very inexpensive.

Multicultural Sticker Scene

From Oriental Trading.  $4.99 for a dozen.

Here's the link to buy them. 

Mini-Lapbook

I found some 6x9 inch envelopes at Michael's and made a miniature lapbook small enough to fit the envelope.  I took a piece of cardstock and cut it down to size.  I folded over the ends to make a little book and put in some easy mazes, a word search, a dot to dot and some miscellaneous stickers I had around the house.  It's for our 5-year old child, Fredy.  It's my first attempt at a lapbook and it was really fun to do!!!  Thanks to everyone on the Compassion blog who suggested this idea!

    

   

Next batch of letters ready to go...

The sparkly stars are from Family Christian Stores.

Fun Stuff from Oriental Trading

I keep a goody bin filled with items that can be sent to sponsored kids. These are all from the Oriental Trading catalog.

When I write letters - about every 6-8 weeks - I grab something from the bin and put it in along with the letter. Whatever is left over goes to my daughter and the neighbor kids. Here's how to find the items above in the Oriental Trading catalog:

• Make-a-Fish Aquarium Stickers - $2.99 per dozen
• IN-34/684
• Bird Sticker Books - $5.99 per dozen
• IN-9/1082
• Design your own Noah's Ark Sticker Scenes - $4.99 per dozen
• IN-57/6308
• 3-D Space Sticker Books - $9.99 per dozen
• IN-9/1091
• ***NOTE: These are expensive -- and the 3D effect isn't great. If I had to order again, I would go with...
• Make Your Own Solar System Stickers - $2.99 per dozen
• IN-70/3770
• "God's Greatest Gift" Color Your Own Stickers - $2.99 per dozen
• IN-36/1858
• Make A Racecar Sticker Sheets - $2.99 per dozen
• IN-9/748

Bible Verse Cards

Our oldest sponsored child is preparing to graduate from the program in May. In addition to a monetary gift for a graduation present, I wanted to share with him some of my favorite Bible verses. I made Bible verse cards and on the back I put photos of Ethiopians who are victorious in their lives.






















My verses:

• Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.


• Philippians 3:13-14 I forget the past and strain ahead for what is still to come. I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus.


• Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.


• Matthew 7:7 Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened unto you.


• Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Oldies, but goodies.

Easter-themed letter

Here is the Easter letter we're sending out to our younger sponsored kids. We are including:

• "He Lives!" make-a-scene stickers from Oriental Trading, with paper;
• "Color Your Own Cross" fuzzy pictures from Oriental Trading;
• Pics of our daughter decorating Easter eggs;
• DLTK's free make your own custom writing paper in an Easter theme.

Winter-themed letter

I'm getting ready to send a winter-themed letter off to a little boy in the Philippines who is 6 years old. I'm sending:

• Pics of a recent snowstorm
• Penguin stickers and paper (from the Oriental Trading catalog)
• A letter on penguin and igloo-themed stationery from the DLTK website -- make your own free customized writting paper -- http://www.dltk-cards.com/writingpaper/

Rulers

I found these cute rulers at Office Max. They had horses, dolphins, cats, dogs, etc. When you move the ruler backward and forward, it looks like the animals are moving. The company that makes them is Mooviestudio. They are paper and flat, and should go through.  (EDITED TO ADD:  They did go through!)  They'll be on their way to Ethiopia soon.  (EDITED TO ADD:  If you're wondering what that horrible sound is in the background, that would be Spongebob Squarepants turned up far too loud!)

Pocket folders that fit Compassion's mailing size

EDITED TO ADD:  I've since found out that full-size folders will go through.  You don't have to cut them down.  My only recommendation would be to avoid the folders with the metal clasps in the center.  Stick to simple paper folders.

Someone on the "Letter Writing Ideas" page over at the Compassion Blog came up with a GREAT idea!! (Hi Donna!) :) Send a folder to your child so he or she has something to keep letters and gifts in.

The standard-size folder exceeds Compassion's size limit. One idea is to cut the folders down to size. Cut an inch or two off the top and an inch or two off the right hand side. Then staple the pockets closed again.

This is what we did for one of my daughter's art projects and they are really sweet. See pics above!

"Favorite Things" Letter

We asked one of our sponsored kids to tell us about his favorite things -- and got a really neat letter back. So we sent a list of our favorite things.

Here is the letter we sent. It's just an idea if you're feeling stuck about what to write. It's kind of an easy and fun letter to put together.

Click on the images below to see them better. (Use the back arrow to get back to this page.)

Sports Cards and Stickers

Our oldest sponsored child from Ethiopia is interested in the World Cup and we've exchanged some letters on the subject. I found some cool football/soccer stickers and cards and sent those. I got them on Amazon.

Mail for unsponsored kids

I went through all of my old Christmas cards, cut out images and taped those to cardstock. On the back of each I put a Bible verse. I put each one in an envelope with some stickers.

They're on their way!

Mail for Unsponsored Kids Part II

I found some cute Peanuts stickers around the house and decorated up my envelopes for the unsponsored kids a bit. I think they look cute:

Bookmarks

There is a new group on OurCompassion that is inviting people to write letters to children in the program who don't yet have sponsors. You can write letters, send stickers, bookmarks, etc.

To find out more about this, join OurCompassion and sign up with the "Encouragement and Hope" group. They have all the info on where to send your letters.

My daughter and I made some cards/bookmarks to send. We'll put them in an envelope along with some stickers. I hope the kids like them!

Soccer Stencils

Here is my latest find for my sponsored kids. "Fun with Soccer Stencils." It has six paper stencils of a person playing soccer. My Ethiopian kids love soccer/football! One thing to note, Compassion International can no longer send books or booklets -- anything that has a binding that is too thick or stiff. But these very small Dover booklets will go through. I found this one at my local children's museum.