August isn’t always the first month when people think about Christmas cards, but it’s never too late to start preparing ñ especially if you’re in a CFCA community in Colombia!
Every year more than 300,000 children and aging friends sponsored through CFCA send Christmas cards or year-end greetings to their sponsors. That’s a lot of mail for our projects to coordinate, process and send.
Harry Garcia, our communications liaison in Colombia, explains about a competition for the best Christmas card to be sent to sponsors this December.
All the Christmas cards ready to be chosen.
We decided to have a competition for the Christmas cards in the CFCA communities in Colombia where the sponsored children and mothers participate with new designs, decorations, sizes and messages.
In this way the community creates the cards, and at our office in Bogota we choose the best card for the sponsors.
The best part of this activity is to create a new card, work with one another and have a good time together.
The mothers and sponsored children are glad because it is a good way to show their skills and creativity, and we can see their love for sponsors with the beautiful card designs and colors.
We meet with the staff from all the CFCA communities at the main office in Bogota, and they bring the cards to the office.
Then we place all the cards on a big poster and the staff members see the cards. We start to choose the best cards depending on creativity, design, materials, type of letter, message, size and weight.
With this activity we increase the participation from families in our sponsorship program, and we can see the families working together and becoming more united.
A snapshot of one suggested card.
They also realize that they are a vital part of CFCA activities and give their best ideas for the sponsors.
The staff gain more responsibility and respect because they help choose the card. They have to vote for the best card and be objective to value the community’s effort.
The CFCA staffers in Colombia work on choosing the best card for sponsors.
Some of the message ideas for this year’s Christmas card:
I wish you have a Merry Christmas; before celebrating with your family, ask God to fill the hearts of your loved ones with love. By Formando Futuro Mothers Group
Christmastime is the tenderness of the past, the precious of the present and the hope for the future. May each way lead you to peace. By, Construyendo Nuestro Futuro Mothers’ Group
May Our Lord fill your heart with joy and fill your life with happiness and good memories, and fill your soul with dreams.
This is the time to see the best feelings of our hearts and sending them to our loved ones. The best gift is giving love.
Do you want to see the final card chosen for sponsors? (Spoiler alert ñ if your sponsored child or aging friend is from Bogota and you still want to be surprised this December, don’t scroll down the page!)
Wait for it …
Just a little more scrolling …
There!
Now it’s your turn!
If you would like to send your friend a Christmas greeting, we recommend sending your greeting card early because mail can be slow during the holiday season. It usually takes six to eight weeks for a letter to arrive at the project.
(You can now send eLetters, which are messages sent to your friend through your CFCA online account. You must be logged in to your online account before sending an eLetter.)
Related links
I always look forward to my special card from my special Maria in Guatemala – Thanks for all you do for all of us sponsors – we appreciate you all. God BLess You. Marsha M
Always excited to read about Maria and David especially at the holidays