While we may complain about not being able to buy this toy or not being able to go on that trip, most of us enjoy quite the charmed lifestyle. Compared to many other people around the world, we are incredibly fortunate. I don’t have to worry about putting food on the table or getting access to clean water, but these are everyday concerns for so many people.
That is why you may want to consider sponsoring a child through Plan Canada. This organization aims to change the world, one child at a time. I should note that while this is a sponsored review, the opinions expressed are wholly my own and have not been influenced by the nature of the sponsorship.
What is Plan Canada?
According to the about page, Plan Canada is part of a larger global movement for change, “mobilizing millions of people around the world to support social justice for children in developing countries.” In short, you can sponsor a child and Plan will aim to help these children “realize their full potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity.”
This starts with enabling the children and their families to meet basic needs, like clean water, sanitation, medicine, and food. The funding is also used to build relationships and advocate the rights and interests of the world’s children. They have a particular interest in overcoming gender discrimination.
Why Sponsor a Child?
I certainly believe that we should re-invest in our own communities, but we should also recognize the pressing needs of people all around the globe, particularly those who live in some of the poorest regions in the world.
Plan Canada does not expect you to change the world on your own, of course, but by pooling the resources of all donors, they can work toward saving many children from unnecessary poverty and mortality. The funding can be used to build infrastructure, provide proper nutrition, and educate people on how they can be self-sufficient in the future.
How Does This Work?
Plan Canada says you are sponsoring a single child, but that isn’t the whole truth. Instead, the contributions are pooled together and used to fun programs that benefit the sponsored children.
That said, you are still connected to the one child you are sponsoring. You will be provided with their story and pictures. In turn, you have the opportunity to send pictures back and even visit your sponsored child if you so choose. However, you cannot send gifts directly to the child you sponsor, as this can pose security and jealousy problems in the community.
Looking at the main page, I noticed that it said about 80% of all donations go to the programs benefiting the children and their families. The remaining 20%, presumably, goes toward administration costs.
However, when I click through on the link for accountability to donors, I get an empty page. This seems to be part of the old site design, so I hope the Plan Canada webmasters update this very important page soon.
Where and How Much Can I Donate?
You can choose to donate monthly or annually. The minimum sponsorship level is $35 a month ($420 a year), which works out to just over a dollar a day. Your sponsorship can be higher, should you so choose, and you can end your sponsorship at your discretion at any time.
The donation form gives you the opportunity to choose the age, country and gender of the sponsored child, but Plan Canada encourages you to leave these fields blank. This way, the sponsorship can go to the child who has been on the waiting list the longest. They have sponsored children from Bangladesh, Ecuador, Malawi, Thailand, and more.
Plan Canada is a registered Canadian charity so you also get the associated tax benefits from your donation.
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{ 45 comments }
Great post john! But sorry to plan canada, I can’t afford $35 a month..
if I were rich like john chow, why not donate right? 
Haha, the writter is Michael Kwan again not John.
I believe that John afford to sponsor more than 10 childrens once, it’s not a problem at all for him.
Yes, John can easily afford that one.
i know who is michael . … he is one of the best writer and john may love him to write for this blog after give some idea about the post..
about the sponsor .. i am thinking about john build a ” home ” for them…
@ Earning …
This is so nice of you that you are thinking in this manner at so young age.
If we all will start in this manner than I am sure there will be no uneducated child.
Oh no! Two points for me. Again I thought this was John’s post. This is really a great program. Be thankful that there are still people willing to help others without expecting any benefits as an exchange for it.
It’s all about how you budget. $35/month really isn’t that much money in the grand scheme of things. Just doing little things like taking your own lunch to work instead of eating out can quickly make up $35/month.
As a starving college student I could see it being a little hard though..
$35 a month is more to some than others. People should really just try to give some of their time, often that is needed more than the money is because many org’s just end up using the $ to hire help. Go to your local rescue mission/homeless shelter and volunteer. One hour of my time is worth much more than $35
More like $35 a week for me. It’s sad really how much we piss away, and how little others have.
That’s really great to sponsor a child, we don’t save the world at least we save a life, a child’s life. My gf do sponsor a child in Africa, it’s about $17 per month only. I’m going to sponsor one in coming days too!
Hey that’s good Lee. That you are going to sponsor a child.
I am also thinking about it, but I have no plans.
Of course, John can afford to sponsor a child, but do you know any other dot com mogul that sponsor a child?
Helping others always make one feels good and we should do it more often. Sponsoring a child, doing community works, helping elderly….etc, etc.. (or stop sending spam comments
)
It is amazing how when you’re feeling down, the best way to start feeling better is to stop worrying about your own problems and help someone else. Strange how we’re programed to think
It’s a good point. Whenever you help someone, for whatever reason, you do seem to gain some intangible benefit.
You always state when a post is a paid review, and I feel you dropped the ball on this one, John. Sorry, but a light grey badge on a white background (without similar text) just doesn’t cut it, especially when graphics are turned off for a feed. Paid reviews are fine, and even appreciated, as long as they are disclosed.
I realize that someone else wrote this post, but it’s still in your blog, and ultimately, it’s your responsibility to ensure that disclosure occurs appropriately.
While I’m near the point, I might as well state an earlier concern again: The byline is clear on your website, (although admittedly, it could show with more visual contrast), but it does not appear in the feed. Thus, people like myself who primarily read your feed, and only occasionally visit your site, do not have a way of knowing that you did not author a given post. This is often disorienting, and could even be a separate way of degrading your otherwise impeccable credibility.
I mean these points with the best of intentions, and with your best interest in mind.
Your point is well taken David, but surely worthwhile causes such as this one deserves to get a little bit of leeway? It is hardly a scheme to further enrich some marketer.
“John has long since said (and I agree) that life isn’t about how much you make or how much you get; the value of life is really about how much you give. ”
-John doesn’t normally talk about himself in third person.
“I should note that while this is a sponsored review, the opinions expressed are wholly my own and have not been influenced by the nature of the sponsorship.”
-A place in the post that can be found in the feed easily that clearly states it is a sponsored review.
Why, of all sponsored posts, would one supporting people in need be the post you made these observations about?
i think its too much for me
i should learn to get much money like john than i can sponsor such thing
Hope you can earn much soon so can help the child.
yeah.. i have to agree wiht you….lol.. make $100 and donate $50.. i thing that is enough
It’s like a come and buy my affiliate products so that I can afford to sponsor a child!
You know, Kwan,
you do change the world, when you change one life. By sponsoring one child, you are making world a better place to live for that one child.
Btw, do you know, in which countries does Plan Canada operates?
I always love programs like these when you can interact with the child you are sponsoring. My wife and I support a child through a different program and the child we are sponsoring actually writes us notes (via translator) and draws us pictures. Its really cute and heart warming.
Helping child is really important part for world future. Helping child is as same as we save world future.
I hope John sponsored this review, i.e. didn’t charge them for publishing it, would be a nice gesture! SY
I totally agree with you…
I think it is absolutely amazing that $35 a month can make a real difference in a third world country child’s life. We are so blase about money and the actual cost of sustaining our existences, that we lose sight of what is really important.
That is so true. It’s hard to imagine living off $1/day. It really brings how lucky we are to live in developed countries.
The first phrase mentioned here pretty much sums up what you have to say about living a rich life. Not only do you agree Mike, I am sure many others do too!
The ability to give is wealth..
This is such a great program. My wife and I currently support a program called Compassion which sponsors children in Africa. It is really awesome getting notes from our sponsored child.
There is a phrase I once heard and it goes like this: “Blessings come to those who are willing to give” It is a catholic phrase I think but I firmly believed on it.
great program . i already join one program that donate to people whose need it… i love this john.. you are really a guy
I dont think John you should have taken money for a charitable cause for this review.
C’m guys, it’s not about affordability, it’s about how you handle it.
When you say “I can’t afford it” you’re done, you are dead man, not businessman. The better way, (and it’s my strait opinion) you, as businessman (don’t you claim to be one?) have to change mindset and say: “What I have to do in order to afford it” Thinking this way will change your mindset and obviously your future as businessman.
I’m disappointed when people teach others how to make money online “Can’t afford something” Don’t say a word in this case, just say nothing. It seems to me, people who reply to post like this in such manner just try to get credits of posting.
Don’t you know the trick when they say “I’ll think about it” means “I won’t buy it”. Just say nothing.
Everybody knows that almost 85% of all charities goes to fundraiser, not to safe children, but this is other story.
It doesn’t matter who wrote this post, JC or not. In fact John is brilliant person, who’d like to change this g…. world.
Please don’t take it personally what I said.
Please bear in mind that not everybody commenting on this blog lives in a so-called first world country. Some people here can’t afford to spend an additional $35/month because they live in the same country like these children. SY
Good point, didn’t think about it like that.
A very generous thinking. And I like it a lot. I think that it is great that people who were smart or fortunate to make a lot of money are ready to share their wealth.
It is only important to give the ones who need help the fishing rod rather than fish.
Sponsoring a child would be a great way to kick off the weekend!
This is really a good program. You can sense their willingness to help other people. I hope many would join and help those children.
Nice to see that you are giving place of this kind of messages in your blog.
This way you earn respect …
Hey John,
Nothing can be better than helping a kid in need. I appreciate your effort to make this sponsor a child event published. I will surely sign up here and do whatever I can to help a kid.
Thanks for it
My parents have participated in a similar program for over 10 years now. They got to see this one special boy turn into a man. There were always little drawings from him on the fridge, and then they soon were pictures of a teenager. It’s pretty cool stuff, check it out.
This is definitely worth a retweet!
I really want to do this as soon as I sort my family out as at the moment I can’t even afford to see my own son so once I can sort out my obligations to my family then this is definitely on the cards for me. I always wanted to do that.