Child SPonsorships

BLOOM’s partnerships in Uganda support children’s education in a private, Christian boarding school. While other organizations have sponsorship programs that may cost less, this is because the children are often attending local schools, while participating in those other organization’s programs. Often times, in these programs, tuition and fees are either free or are already covered/subsidized by government and various other resources, so sponsoring their education is more about covering their school supplies and uniforms. Our programs are unique because our children are part of a HOLISTIC educational program that holds a higher quality standard that, while registered with the government, is monitored and evaluated privately. It’s more than just school tuition. It’s consistency knowing teachers will show up daily for their students (unlike in public school, where the government doesn’t always pay teachers on time, so they aren’t always motivated to show up). It’s safe shelter through high quality dorms and monitored foster care programs. It’s spiritual mentorship through a Christian education model. It’s making sure children are kept healthy physically and mentally. When sponsoring a child through BLOOM, you ensure that every aspect of the child’s life and well-being is considered in their 5 Pillars to Thrive care plan.

Sponsorship funds are directly applied to supporting your child. This covers:

• 3 nutritious meals per day
• Weekend clothing and shoes
• School uniform and shoes
• School supplies and books
• School tuition
• Safe shelter
• Clean drinking water
• Basic medical care
• A bed with a mattress and blanket
• Hygiene supplies
• Christian mentorship

As a sponsor, you and your family will have an opportunity to connect with the heart of a child overseas. BLOOM will provide:

• Photos and letters from your sponsored child 2-3 times per year (some children may be able to send updates more frequently, but this is not a guarantee)
• A cultural education card (digital) about your child’s community, country and daily life.
• Ability to send photos and letters to your sponsored child at 2-3 times per year electronically. Our program coordinators in Uganda print and take your updates to the children when they collect updates from the children for you.
• Annual updates highlighting the impact of your sponsorship and our community projects for your child.

Once you have been matched with a child, our partners in Uganda will upload your child’s photos, grade reports and letters to your portal several times per year. You are welcome to upload your own hand written letters and family photos to your portal for our partners in Uganda to review (to ensure the child’s protection and to avoid cultural taboos) and then print and distribute them to your sponsored child. We will make every effort to facilitate correspondence between you and your child several times per year when possible. However, sometimes due to the rural areas and limited staff resources, we may only be able to facilitate this 2-3 times per year. A teacher or staff member will assist younger children who cannot yet read or write.

Specific amounts for child sponsorship are actual costs based on field needs communicated by our partners. This varies by location, program and shelter type. Children who are sponsored at Side by Side School in Rakai or Kampala and live in the boarding school require $88/month because of the extremely high quality schooling facilities, especially the dorms. Children sponsored at Side by Side who live with a  foster family in the community require $55/month. Children sponsored at the Dove school in Mukono will live in the dorms or with a foster family for $55/month.

When you sponsor a child, we guarantee your child will receive the care mentioned above. However, you’re not only helping to support that child as they grow and learn. A portion of your monthly support gets combined with the support of other sponsors. This helps BLOOM ensure that no child is left out, regardless of whether they have a sponsor, so they can receive the life-changing benefits of sponsorship.

You can sponsor a child for as long as you want or are able. We do encourage long-term sponsorships so that each child can go through at least secondary school, giving them the best chance at finding a job and supporting themselves later in life. However, if you stick with your child past secondary school, we can make special arrangements to send your child to a trade school or university with your sponsorship. Note this may change the sponsorship cost.

Each holiday season we will launch a Christmas-specific fundraiser that will benefit all participating children in our programs. These specific fundraisers will not necessarily be earmarked for specific children or families, as we do not want any child feeling left our if their sponsor is not able to provide a Christmas gift. Rather, our Christmas fundraiser will contribute to the community as a whole. These gifts will range from toys and shoes/clothing for the children, to community livestock or food gifts, or any other specifically named need by our partners at that time.

At this time we do not have a plan for mission trips that involve visiting your sponsored child. However, this may change after Covid-19 restrictions have eased in both the US and your sponsor child’s country.

BLOOM will issue you an automatic electronic receipt for your donation (be sure to check your junk/spam folder). We recommend you present this receipt to your tax professional in order to determine tax writeoff eligibility. BLOOM is a 501c3 organization, and our EIN is 45-4292119.