{"id":19326,"date":"2015-07-01T11:03:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?p=19326"},"modified":"2020-06-03T13:34:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T20:34:02","slug":"evolution-of-child-sponsorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/sponsorship-news-stories\/evolution-of-child-sponsorship","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of child sponsorship through the years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the beginning, there was a child — and a challenge. Evangelist Bob Pierce encountered a little girl in China who needed financial support, not just for that day but over time. He gave the cash from his pocket and promised to send more.<\/p>\n

\"Follow
Dr. Bob Pierce with Korean orphans. (©World Vision archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Dr. Pierce founded World Vision a few years later in 1950, that model of ongoing support for children soon became the ministry’s core program — child sponsorship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, child sponsorship still creates bonds between supporters and children that transcend culture and distance. But over the decades it has expanded and improved to transform entire communities for generations of children. This is the evolution of child sponsorship.<\/p>\n

Caring for orphans<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though China provided the impetus, child sponsorship actually started in Korea in response to the needs of war orphans. Dr. Pierce traveled to Korea as a U.N. war correspondent, and he shot films that graphically depicted the reality for refugees and families affected by conflict. He showed the films in churches throughout the U.S. and Canada, inviting congregations to give. World Vision was formed as a channel for these funds.<\/p>\n

\"Follow
A 1950s sponsor passbook. (©World Vision archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the war ended in 1953, World Vision launched child sponsorship to care for Korean orphans. Sponsors could choose a boy or girl, and they received a photo, brief background, and as a personal touch, the child’s footprint. They paid $10 a month, registered in a special passbook mailed back and forth to World Vision. Sponsorship provided food, uniforms, schooling, medical care, and Bible training for children living in orphanages managed by Korean<\/p>\n

In 1955, sponsorship expanded to Taiwan (then called Formosa) and India. More than 4,000 children benefited from sponsors’ support and prayers.<\/p>\n

Then, as now, people of all ages reached out to care for orphans. “I am 88 years old,” wrote one woman, whose letter was printed in World Vision <\/em>magazine in 1957. “I will be glad to send $10 each month to care for a little girl. I always wanted a little girl of my own. I cannot write to her (I am crippled and nearly blind), but I can send her occasional gifts and cards with a verse and my signature.”<\/p>\n

Another letter said, “My son wants to sponsor an orphan boy around his age, 14 years. He has a paper route and would like to make this his missionary project.”<\/p>\n

Spreading the word about child sponsorship<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By the mid-1960s, the number of sponsored children swelled to 15,000. One reason for the growth: the children themselves. In 1957 World Vision opened a music school in Korea for musically gifted sponsored children. These children formed the Korean Orphans Choir (later named the Korean Children’s Choir), which started touring the world in 1961. They performed for dignitaries such as President Eisenhower and India’s Prime Minister Nehru. In the U.S. they appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and sang at large venues like Carnegie Hall. Audiences were drawn to sponsor children like the charming singers, who put faces and names to children in need.<\/p>\n

\"Follow
Art Linkletter hosted World Vision’s TV programs in the 1970s. (©World Vision archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During this decade, World Vision broadened the childcare focus to include impoverished children who were not orphaned, often studying in Christian boarding schools. The organization continued to grow, operating in more than 30 countries. By 1969, the number of sponsored children approached 30,000.<\/p>\n

To this point, the main methods for spreading the word about sponsorship were Bob Pierce’s church appearances, radio broadcasts, and films, as well as World Vision<\/em> magazine. In 1973, World Vision moved into television with “Children of Zero,” a documentary hosted by Art Linkletter. The now-famous Korean Children’s Choir performed, and World Vision’s new president, Stan Mooneyham, gave an appeal.<\/p>\n

World Vision experimented with various TV show formats during these years, including a telethon and an entertainment special, “One to One,” starring Julie Andrews and the Muppets singing alongside the Korean Children’s Choir.<\/p>\n