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Since you are now scanning letters and delivering them digitally, how do you get the stickers and bookmarks which I include in my letters, to my child?
Posted 3 years ago
Shannon Massey, Employee
Shannon Massey, Employee
So sometimes the stickers will be held back for months and months until a full box is ready to send. Which means they will have to hold on to the letter for that amount of time, too. So what is going to prompt them on the country end to go look for the letter? How do they know there's a letter with the stickers? I would hate to see stickers arriving and the letter left in limbo forever because they forgot to put it with the stickers. This is all so much more complicated than I ever imagined it would become. Thank goodness for World Vision and the other programs that are so much easier to work with...and you can still send ACTUAL packages.
I was told by the social media ladies that if a letter/photo/postcard accompanies any item that will physically be mailed to the child (stickers, musical or pop-up card), that letter/photo/postcard is going to be physically delivered as well! Is this not the case??? Seems that nobody understands those rules!!!
(Edited)
Maybe that's what prompts them to look for a scanned translation of the letter....getting the letter with the stickers?
I have been told that they go separately. When this all started they told me the letter would be scanned and arrive electronically, then my kids would get some random stickers whenever. I liked themed letters before the change in the letter system so this was a huge disappointment for me.
Shannon- you mentioned musical cards but not pop-up cards. Aren't pop-up cards being sent snail mail?
Shannon- you mentioned musical cards but not pop-up cards. Aren't pop-up cards being sent snail mail?
Shannon Massey, Employee
Good morning all!
I am so sorry that this has caused confusion. You are right, the rules have changed quite a few times because we want to ensure that our kiddos receive their letters in the best quality format, that is least confusing to them. Currently, we are able to send the physical original letter along with any physical items that come through. However, this means that your letter will still need to be translated. The child will receive the physical original letter in addition to the translated copy. When the boxes arrive, the letter is paired with the translation at the child center and then given to the child. As I mentioned, if the letter says that there are any physical items to be attached, the translated letter will be held until this arrives, otherwise if they are not mentioned, the child will be given the letter right away and the items will come later. Thankfully we do send plenty of physical items still so they are shipped out quite often.
Although we love when our supporters send stickers, bookmarks, cards etc., it still does cost Compassion quite a bit more money to send these items, so we do ask that you do not send these physical items all the time. This allows us to use more money toward child support each month and continue to give more directly to the kiddos.
As always, thank you all for continuing to pour out your love to your children. Your letters truly do make a huge difference in their lives. We appreciate all you continue to do! have a wonderful day! :)
I am so sorry that this has caused confusion. You are right, the rules have changed quite a few times because we want to ensure that our kiddos receive their letters in the best quality format, that is least confusing to them. Currently, we are able to send the physical original letter along with any physical items that come through. However, this means that your letter will still need to be translated. The child will receive the physical original letter in addition to the translated copy. When the boxes arrive, the letter is paired with the translation at the child center and then given to the child. As I mentioned, if the letter says that there are any physical items to be attached, the translated letter will be held until this arrives, otherwise if they are not mentioned, the child will be given the letter right away and the items will come later. Thankfully we do send plenty of physical items still so they are shipped out quite often.
Although we love when our supporters send stickers, bookmarks, cards etc., it still does cost Compassion quite a bit more money to send these items, so we do ask that you do not send these physical items all the time. This allows us to use more money toward child support each month and continue to give more directly to the kiddos.
As always, thank you all for continuing to pour out your love to your children. Your letters truly do make a huge difference in their lives. We appreciate all you continue to do! have a wonderful day! :)
That's what I was told, too. This is all so confusing...maybe the idea is to just stop mailing anything. Just email. Sad for the kids, but definitely less stressful and confusing for us. My sister sent special stickers to all of our kids....hers and mine....around fifteen total packets and quite expensive because they were special. They're missing and have been missing...since they were delivered to Compassion on January 24th (tracked package).
Shannon Massey, Employee
Hi Kris,
I am very sorry I forgot to mention that pop-up cards are also sent physically. :)
I am very sorry I forgot to mention that pop-up cards are also sent physically. :)
Thank you Shannon for the new clarifications.
Shannon Massey, Employee
Good morning all,
I owe you all an apology. I was incorrect in the information that I gave you, and for that I am sincerely sorry. After speaking with my supervisor, she was able to confirm for us that I was not correct in the process. I have confirmed that when you send a letter accompanied by any item that is physically sent, the letter will be scanned for translation and the items, along with the physical original copy of your letter will be shipped. When they arrive, they will be given to the children. This means that the project is actually not holding any letters until items arrive, as I has mentioned above. Again, I am so sorry for the confusion and for giving incorrect information. Thank you all for your kindness and understanding!
I owe you all an apology. I was incorrect in the information that I gave you, and for that I am sincerely sorry. After speaking with my supervisor, she was able to confirm for us that I was not correct in the process. I have confirmed that when you send a letter accompanied by any item that is physically sent, the letter will be scanned for translation and the items, along with the physical original copy of your letter will be shipped. When they arrive, they will be given to the children. This means that the project is actually not holding any letters until items arrive, as I has mentioned above. Again, I am so sorry for the confusion and for giving incorrect information. Thank you all for your kindness and understanding!
So am I understanding correctly that when we send in a letter accompanied with some other physical item, that our letter will be scanned and electronically transferred to their field office, translated, and printed there, and given to the child as soon as possible. Then the stickers or bookmark or whatever the accompanied item is, will be physically sent via snail mail with the original letter. When that original letter and item (stickers, bookmark) arrive to their field office, the letter and item will both be given to the child together. So in actuality our child will be receiving two copies of that letter, first the scanned one by itself and second the original one with the stickers/bookmark. So....they will still be receiving our scanned letter pretty quickly after we send it in, but since the stickers in snail mail will take way longer, those would get delivered to them approximately 2-3 months later, after the scanned letter? So we could still say "You will be getting some stickers in a few months" or something....and this letter (since it refers to the stickers) would NOT be held back to wait for the letter?? Is this all correct? Just trying to confirm for myself as I do love to send my kids stickers so I just wanted to be clear on the process. Thank you, Shannon!!!!!
Christina, Employee
Hi Trina! I don't blame you at all for wanting to confirm! :) Yes, this is true. Your child will indeed receive two copies of your letter. One will arrive much sooner and will be the scanned, translated, and printed version. Then, a bit later, your child will receive your items and the physical original letter together. Please let us know if you have any additional questions. Have a blessed weekend!
Thank you so much, Christina!!! You have a very blessed weekend as well!!!
Compassion staff- I have question about stickers, and I found these posts from 9 months ago. I know the rules have changed, I believe several times, but since the BIG change with the new system, other changes just seem to show up in this forum. I just wanted to check to see how things currently stand.
My question was whether or not it is alright to send stickers labeled as "foil" or "laser." (They are shiny, but flat.) Also, after reading through some of the comments above, it sounds like Compassion would prefer that we do not include extras like cards and stickers? It's so hard to know anymore what is best for the kids, what Compassion will allow, and (after reading this post) what Compassion would prefer that we do and do not send. I saw some neat stickers, and thought maybe I should include some with some snail mail letters as a special treat for my kids, but maybe it's best just to do what's easy and send electronically and leave the extras out?
Thank you.
Beth, here is a link to what you are able to send to your sponsored child, https://www.compassion.com/letter-writing/tips-for-mailing-small-gifts.htm. You are able to send stickers and cards! The cards would be scanned, although, if they are musical greeting cards, we would not scan those. We would not scan the stickers either. I think sending these items is a great idea! If you are thinking about it doing it, I would encourage you to do so. Let us know if you have any further questions after reading through this link. It give you pretty detailed instructions on what we are able to send to your sponsored child.
Thank you so much Madison for your reply, and your encouragement to send these types of items. I am still wondering, are flat sticker sheets labeled foil or laser still considered paper?
Here is a link for laser stickers. It says they have a metallic finish that makes them sparkle. https://www.dollartree.com/Assorted-Laser-Sticker-Sheets/p308586/index.pro
Here is a link for the foil stickers. Another link I found described them as 'metalized paper'. https://www.dollartree.com/Jot-Star-or-Smiley-Face-Foil-Stickers/p340023/index.pro
Leah, Employee
Hi Beth! Yes, these types of stickers are fine to send. I am sure that your child will enjoy receiving them and sharing with her friends. I would just encourage making sure to include your sponsor number and your child's number on all of the things you send.
Thank you so much, Leah! And thanks for the reminder about putting the #'s on the items.
