Hello!
Wow. Time has flown. I feel like I just wrote the first post in this series. Anyway, I am going to tell you how I keep everything organized. I am usually not very organized, but I think I have done pretty well keeping all of my Compassion things organized.
I was going to post pictures for it to make more sense, however I have been gone all day. I will do my best to explain what I do. So if you have any questions, let me know in the comments. I will do my best to help you.
I have a gallon bag for each of my Compassion family. I use a Sharpie and write the child's full name and number on the bag. I keep the child packet, letters from the child, and any stickers or stationery for that child in the bag. Last summer, this worked perfectly. Now the gallon bags have gotten shorter, so I have to fold the stationery in half.
I keep all the stickers for the child in a quart or sandwich bag labeled "stickers." I also printed off name labels for all of my Compassion family. However, I did not have adhesive paper. So, I find that I do not use them. I have them in a snack bag labeled "name labels" in the gallon bag too.
Whenever I get a letter from one of my Compassion family, I am very excited. That is not really important, but I thought I would tell you anyway ;) Whenever I get a letter, I make sure to keep the envelope and write the date I received it on the back. This way, I know how long it took me to get the letter from when it was written. Also, I can see how long it has been since I got a letter from that child.
I write each of my Compassion family twice a month. I write two each weekend. For instance, I wrote Mabel and Aruna this past weekend. I do this online. The whole month, I work on a package to send out. I will write a themed letter to all of my kids. Last month I did geography. I will print off maps or song lyrics to go along with the letters. I also include stickers and coloring pages.
If I get a letter from one of my Compassion family, I reply to it within a day or two. I don't include stickers or anything, just a letter. I like to comment on all that they wrote to me and ask them questions about it. I don't include any extras because it can get expensive to buy all that stuff and to send it out.
Well, that is what I do. What do you do? How do you keep organized? I am always looking for ways to improve my organization.
What did you learn during this series? I hope you got something useful out of it.
Change a life!
Lizzie :)
Week One- Letter writing ideas and tips.
Week Two- How does my letter get to my child?
Week Three- How does my child's letter get to me?
P.S. Please use the survey on the right to show where you sponsor a child. I have all the countries that Compassion works in.
Showing posts with label letter writing series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letter writing series. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Letter Writing- Week Three
Hello!
This week, I am going to write about how your sponsored child's letter gets to you.
Most Compassion projects have a letter writing day. All the children will write letters to their sponsors. Then they give them to their tutor to be checked over. Once the tutors have decided that all the letters are satisfactory, they will give them to the field office. This can take two weeks to one and a half months.
Once they get to the field office, the letters are translated. The Compassion staff will then spot check a few letters from each translator. After the letters are translated, they are sent to the GMC (Compassion's headquarters in Colorado Springs).
When the GMC receives the letters, they are packaged up to be sent to the sponsors. You can see this in the video below.
Did you get any letters recently?
Change a life!
Lizzie
Make sure you read Week One and Week Two of the letter writing series.
This week, I am going to write about how your sponsored child's letter gets to you.
Most Compassion projects have a letter writing day. All the children will write letters to their sponsors. Then they give them to their tutor to be checked over. Once the tutors have decided that all the letters are satisfactory, they will give them to the field office. This can take two weeks to one and a half months.
Once they get to the field office, the letters are translated. The Compassion staff will then spot check a few letters from each translator. After the letters are translated, they are sent to the GMC (Compassion's headquarters in Colorado Springs).
When the GMC receives the letters, they are packaged up to be sent to the sponsors. You can see this in the video below.
Did you get any letters recently?
Change a life!
Lizzie
Make sure you read Week One and Week Two of the letter writing series.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Letter Writing- Week Two
Hello!
Have you ever wondered how your letter got to your sponsored child? If you have, maybe I can shed some light on the process today.
Every month, Compassion's headquarters in Colorado Springs (aka GMC) receives 100,000 paper letters and 15,000 Internet letters. However, 30% of the sponsored children with USA sponsors do not get any letters. Only 2.6% of USA-sponsored children receive six or more letters a year. It is really sad, because the letters can encourage the kids so much. Compassion knows how much the letters mean to the kids. If a sponsor has not written a letter in six months, Compassion sends a postcard with stationery to write their sponsored child.
Compassion has sixteen employees that deal with the letters from sponsors. One is a researcher and fifteen are processors.
If Compassion receives a letter that does not have the child name and number or the sponsor name and number, the researcher will look up the info on the computer. Because it is difficult to find this information, it can slow down the letter by two weeks. Fortunately only three percent of the letters received must be researched.
The processors check the letter to see if it has the identification information on it. They also will remove anything that cannot be sent.
When your letter gets to the GMC, it will get sorted by country. Internet letters are printed off at the GMC and sorted by country, as well. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, letters are sent to the country offices. They are shipped Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, etc. It can take two weeks to one month for the letters to get to the country offices.
Once the letters reach the country office, they are translated. Usually, Compassion contracts translators and pays them by letter. The translators get one or two weeks to translate the letters. Then the letters are brought back to the country office. The employees at the country office spot check a couple letters by each translator.
After that, the letters are sorted by project center. They are either mailed, picked up, or dropped off to the project. It can take two weeks to six weeks for the letters to get to the project. Sometimes the projects are in the middle of nowhere, so there may not be a way to mail the letters.
When the project gets the letters, they are logged into the child's record and sometimes with a copy. Then the child will get the letter. Usually, the letter stays at the center until the child writes back.
Here is a video of the process that Compassion put together.
Well, I hope I made some sense! Write your child today.
Change a life!
Lizzie :)
Read Week One of the letter writing series HERE.
Have you ever wondered how your letter got to your sponsored child? If you have, maybe I can shed some light on the process today.
Every month, Compassion's headquarters in Colorado Springs (aka GMC) receives 100,000 paper letters and 15,000 Internet letters. However, 30% of the sponsored children with USA sponsors do not get any letters. Only 2.6% of USA-sponsored children receive six or more letters a year. It is really sad, because the letters can encourage the kids so much. Compassion knows how much the letters mean to the kids. If a sponsor has not written a letter in six months, Compassion sends a postcard with stationery to write their sponsored child.
Compassion has sixteen employees that deal with the letters from sponsors. One is a researcher and fifteen are processors.
If Compassion receives a letter that does not have the child name and number or the sponsor name and number, the researcher will look up the info on the computer. Because it is difficult to find this information, it can slow down the letter by two weeks. Fortunately only three percent of the letters received must be researched.
The processors check the letter to see if it has the identification information on it. They also will remove anything that cannot be sent.
When your letter gets to the GMC, it will get sorted by country. Internet letters are printed off at the GMC and sorted by country, as well. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, letters are sent to the country offices. They are shipped Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, etc. It can take two weeks to one month for the letters to get to the country offices.
Once the letters reach the country office, they are translated. Usually, Compassion contracts translators and pays them by letter. The translators get one or two weeks to translate the letters. Then the letters are brought back to the country office. The employees at the country office spot check a couple letters by each translator.
After that, the letters are sorted by project center. They are either mailed, picked up, or dropped off to the project. It can take two weeks to six weeks for the letters to get to the project. Sometimes the projects are in the middle of nowhere, so there may not be a way to mail the letters.
When the project gets the letters, they are logged into the child's record and sometimes with a copy. Then the child will get the letter. Usually, the letter stays at the center until the child writes back.
Here is a video of the process that Compassion put together.
Well, I hope I made some sense! Write your child today.
Change a life!
Lizzie :)
Read Week One of the letter writing series HERE.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Letter Writing- Week One
Hello!
As an Advocate for Compassion International, I get opportunities to attend conference calls to expand my knowledge about Compassion's ministries. Yesterday I attended a call about the correspondence between sponsors and their sponsored children.
So, I will be posting a four week series about letter writing. Let me know what you think about it! I hope that you will learn something useful from it :)
This week, I am going to tell you some tips and ideas on what to write and include in your letters to your sponsored kids.
Probably the most useful thing I learned on the call was that you should not use contractions in your letters. Since English is not usually the translators' first language, they may not know contractions. So, they may not get correctly translated.
Also, slang is not a good thing to use. For instance, if you wrote "couch potato," the translator probably will not know what you are talking about.
Short, simple sentences are the easiest to translate. Long letters take a longer time to translate, so try to keep it to one page or so.
The person leading the call has had a chance to visit many of his sponsored children. He said that when he got home from visiting them, he sometimes thought how many things he forgot to ask his sponsored children. He ended up realizing that his sponsored children told him what they wanted him to know. I say all that because it is important that we don't make our letters an interrogation. Although asking a few questions is fine, it is going to mean more to our sponsored children if we tell them about us and that we care for them.
Onto the ideas...I write a themed letter to each of my sponsored kids each month. This month I am sending a map I printed showing where their country is in relation to mine. I am also sending a New York state map that shows where I live and go camping.
I have also themed letters about school, a Bible verse, a song, a season, or what I have been up to, such as hanging out with a friend or playing soccer. I like to send photos, stickers and coloring pages along with the letters. You can also send band aids, post cards, bookmarks, cards, and anything else that is flat paper.
On Hallmark, you can make personalized music cards. I sent one to Lucie for her birthday with the lyrics to the song that played. Many sponsors say that their sponsored children loved them, and I can't wait to hear what she says about it.
Unfortunately, the cost to send something like a toy car or hat would be so high. So, Compassion does not allow you to send those things. However, you can send a monetary gift. Then the staff will take the child shopping to make sure the money is spent well. Then, you will receive a thank you letter about what your child got.
Last but not least, you can write your child on your online account. They have awesome templates to use, and you can attach up to three pictures!
What do you send to your child? What have you written letters about?
Change a life!
Lizzie
By the way, you can get free shipping on your Oriental Trading order through September 20. Use code wce3583
As an Advocate for Compassion International, I get opportunities to attend conference calls to expand my knowledge about Compassion's ministries. Yesterday I attended a call about the correspondence between sponsors and their sponsored children.
So, I will be posting a four week series about letter writing. Let me know what you think about it! I hope that you will learn something useful from it :)
This week, I am going to tell you some tips and ideas on what to write and include in your letters to your sponsored kids.
Probably the most useful thing I learned on the call was that you should not use contractions in your letters. Since English is not usually the translators' first language, they may not know contractions. So, they may not get correctly translated.
Also, slang is not a good thing to use. For instance, if you wrote "couch potato," the translator probably will not know what you are talking about.
Short, simple sentences are the easiest to translate. Long letters take a longer time to translate, so try to keep it to one page or so.
The person leading the call has had a chance to visit many of his sponsored children. He said that when he got home from visiting them, he sometimes thought how many things he forgot to ask his sponsored children. He ended up realizing that his sponsored children told him what they wanted him to know. I say all that because it is important that we don't make our letters an interrogation. Although asking a few questions is fine, it is going to mean more to our sponsored children if we tell them about us and that we care for them.
Onto the ideas...I write a themed letter to each of my sponsored kids each month. This month I am sending a map I printed showing where their country is in relation to mine. I am also sending a New York state map that shows where I live and go camping.
I have also themed letters about school, a Bible verse, a song, a season, or what I have been up to, such as hanging out with a friend or playing soccer. I like to send photos, stickers and coloring pages along with the letters. You can also send band aids, post cards, bookmarks, cards, and anything else that is flat paper.
On Hallmark, you can make personalized music cards. I sent one to Lucie for her birthday with the lyrics to the song that played. Many sponsors say that their sponsored children loved them, and I can't wait to hear what she says about it.
Unfortunately, the cost to send something like a toy car or hat would be so high. So, Compassion does not allow you to send those things. However, you can send a monetary gift. Then the staff will take the child shopping to make sure the money is spent well. Then, you will receive a thank you letter about what your child got.
Last but not least, you can write your child on your online account. They have awesome templates to use, and you can attach up to three pictures!
What do you send to your child? What have you written letters about?
Change a life!
Lizzie
By the way, you can get free shipping on your Oriental Trading order through September 20. Use code wce3583
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