Family Sponsorship FAQs
How are LSM’s Family Sponsorships different than a typical Child Sponsorship?
Very few organizations offer the opportunity to sponsor a family instead of one individual child. When you sponsor an entire family with LSM, you are able to provide tools and resources for parents and their 12 children to grow and thrive in a Christian family.
What does my sponsorship provide?
As a Family Sponsor, you will support a Home of Hope family in Haiti. Each family has 12 children led by a Christian mom and dad. Your ongoing gifts provide a portion of each family’s needs, including; their home, food, clothing, medical care, spiritual guidance, quality education, life skills, child development programs, vocational training and preparedness for future employment.
Additionally, you will have the opportunity to connect with your Home of Hope family, and look inside their daily lives, be a part of their future and clearly see how your support is changing their lives!
Will I be the only person sponsoring the family?
No, because supporting an entire family is a large monthly cost, you will come alongside many other families to fully support and sponsor a Home. Your monthly gifts are combined to provide full support for a Home of Hope family.
What other opportunities will I have to learn about the family I’m helping?
One of the best things about Family Sponsorship is getting to know your Home of Hope family! You will receive access to a secure Family Sponsorship Web page (called the Online Family Room) where you will see news from the family, prayer requests and resources to learn about their culture.
Are all of the Homes of Hope children orphans?
Some of the children in our Homes are double orphans (they have lost both their biological mother and father) from the tragic earthquake in 2010, or from preventable diseases, AIDS, or a host of tragic accidents.
Some children are placed in a Home of Hope because they have lost one of their parents. The remaining impoverished family is so large that even with financial support, one parent is unable to adequately care for all of their children. Other times, a child has been abandoned or sent to live with another family where they are exploited and treated as a slave (called restaveks in Haitian culture.)
Regardless of their family’s background, every child has come to a Home of Hope family voluntarily and with their previous caregivers’ request and blessing. We look for children who are in the worst possible scenarios where they would not be able to survive or thrive without a dramatic change.
May I send gifts to my family?
While your financial gifts are incredibly important, we want our families to remain culturally appropriate in their own community. Many gifts have the unintentional impact of causing jealousy among village children.
LSM does offer a variety of ways to support your family throughout the year. One way is through our Gifts of Hope Christmas catalog. This is an opportunity for your family to support a specific project or items for the family (garden sets, bikes, etc.) that will be given from the parents to their children. We also encourage you to send in your family’s Christmas picture, as this is a great way to connect with your Home of Hope family!
May I contact my family?
Yes, we ask that all communication be sent through LSM. LSM will provide a variety of opportunities for your family to connect and communicate.