Help a child in need, for realz

The older I get the more skeptical I have become with donating to charities. The sad truth of it is many of us have been at the brunt of some person or scam artist appealing to our better nature.  From that experience somewhere we decided "not ever again will I be fooled". I still give to charities, but now I research where my money is going. A site I love is Charity Navigator to find out how efficiently a charity is using the donated funds. However, Child Fund International is a charity I have been supporting for about 5 years now regularly. The way they work is you sponsor a child. This means, you give $24 a month through Child Fund to that child and his or her family. This covers food, medical supplies, water, clothes, books, school, as well as programs that help the community become self sufficient. You also write letters with your sponsored child, or if they are too young, then with their family. Child Fund has people to translate the letter, and you are sent both the original handwritten note as well as the translation. In this way you can stay in communication with the child and really see the effects your donations are doing. Also, they have a great score on Charity navigator.   In the 5 years I have been with them I feel like I really am helping someone, someone I am building a relationship with through letters. So, after all of that - I recommend you check them out at https://www.childfund.org/ Who knows, it might be good fit. And, even in you cannot afford to regularly sponsor a child, you can make one-time donations here and they will use that money where it is the most needed.