Sponsor A Child

Children and volunteers together at a Mission 823 youth camp in Ukraine

Sponsor a Child in Ukraine

Give a child a safe place to heal, a family to belong to, and hope for tomorrow.

War and poverty have taken homes, parents and childhoods. When you sponsor a child with Mission 823, you provide care, safety, healing and the hope of Jesus Christ to children who need it most.

Sponsor A Child
✓ Serving Ukraine's children since 2001 ✓ 501(c)(3) · tax-deductible ✓ Child-safe by design
Why your sponsorship matters

A Child's Future Can Change Today

Orphans, "social orphans" removed from abuse or neglect, children from poverty-stricken and underprivileged families, and children displaced and traumatized by the war are among the most vulnerable children in Europe. Without safe adults around them, they are at risk of being exploited and forgotten.

Mission 823 exists to defend, rescue and restore these children and the families who care for them. When you choose to sponsor a child, your gift goes to work through programs led by our all-Ukrainian team: family-type homes where trained adoptive and foster parents raise children who have lost their families, free healing youth camps, warm meals for hungry children, and relief for struggling families in the hardest-hit communities.

Children partners have already reached

Sponsorship Is Already Changing Children's Lives

25+years serving children in Ukraine
600+children sponsored at 11 healing camps at Camp Willow Park in 2025
1,500children fed a warm meal every month in Nikopol, near the front line
10children growing up in a loving family at Faith House

Plus hundreds more children at camps in the Carpathian Mountains, and families kept warm, fed and supplied with clean water through humanitarian relief. Read our 2025–2026 Impact Report →

What it means to sponsor a child

Your Sponsorship Supports the Whole Child

"Child sponsorship" at Mission 823 means covering the cost of caring for a child in one of our programs. Your gift is pooled to serve every child in that program, so no child is ever left out because no one chose them.

Faith House, a Mission 823 family home for children in Ukraine, at sunset

Family Homes

Trained, licensed parents raise orphaned and vulnerable children in a real home instead of an institution.

About our family homes →
Children in traditional Ukrainian shirts at a Mission 823 youth camp

Healing Youth Camps

Free, all-inclusive camps with trauma care, healthy meals, fun and a safe place to heal.

About our youth camps →
A smiling girl holds up her warm meal at the Mission 823 feeding program in Nikopol, Ukraine

Feeding Programs

Warm meals for hungry children every month in front-line communities like Nikopol.

See the impact →
Mission 823 winter humanitarian relief for families in Ukraine

Humanitarian Relief

Clean water, winter supplies and emergency help for children and families hit hardest by the war.

About war relief →
Safe shelterA stable home and a safe environment
Nutritious mealsHealthy food for growing children
Trauma careSpecialists who help children heal
EducationA path to school, trade or university
Loving adultsTrained parents, staff and mentors
Hope in ChristSpiritual care through local churches
Simple and secure

How Child Sponsorship Works

Choose your gift

Sponsor a child once or monthly on our secure giving page. Monthly sponsorship keeps homes, camps and meals going all year.

We put it to work

Our Ukrainian team uses your gift where children need it most, with regular reporting to our U.S. board.

See the impact

Receive updates on the children and programs you support, and apply to travel with us to Ukraine to see it firsthand.

Sponsor A Child Secure giving · Tax-deductible · Camp sponsorships go 100% to children in Ukraine
A Ukrainian family walking together through a field, a child running ahead
The war had wounded their stories. It had not taken away their ability to be children. Rick Melero, Mission 823 board member, after the Carpathian camps, August 2026
The Pestrushko family, who live in Faith House in Ukraine
A real family, a real home

Meet the Family at Faith House

At Faith House, Mission 823's family-type home in Ukraine, Julia and Sergei Pestrushko are raising a family of 10 children, including four newly adopted teens. Children who once had no one now have a mom, a dad, brothers and sisters, and a place to belong. During the war, Faith House also sheltered dozens of people displaced from the front lines.

This is what sponsorship builds: not a program number, but a family.

"Defend the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: Rescue them out of the hand of the wicked."Psalm 82:3-4, the heart of Mission 823
Protecting the children you love

Our Child-Safe Sponsorship Promise

Many sponsorship programs pair one donor with one child through letters, photos and messages. It's a beautiful idea, but it can also open doors that should stay closed. Personal details can travel far beyond their intended reader, and online contact is difficult to supervise. Across the child sponsorship world, organizations have strengthened their safeguards: limiting social media contact, requiring supervised visits, protecting children's identities, and in some cases moving entirely to program- or community-based sponsorship.

Children in a war zone are especially vulnerable to exploitation. That is why Mission 823 built protection into the way our sponsorship works, from the very beginning.

  • No individual child contact. We do not facilitate letters, messages, gifts or social media connections between sponsors and individual children. This closes a door that people with bad intentions have tried to use.
  • Children's identities stay private. We never share children's last names, addresses, schools or contact details.
  • Every child is included. Your gift supports a child's care within the whole program, so no child is singled out or left out.
  • Accountable local care. Our all-Ukrainian team and trained, licensed caregivers serve the children every day, with regular reporting to our President and U.S. board.
  • Visits only with our team. Partners who want to see the children can apply to travel with Mission 823 to Ukraine, where every interaction happens in group settings, guided by our staff.

Traditional one-to-one sponsorship

  • Letters and photos with one assigned child
  • Children's personal details shared with sponsors
  • Children without sponsors may be left waiting

Mission 823 child-safe sponsorship

  • Your gift covers a child's care in our programs
  • Children's identities and locations protected
  • Every child in the program is served
  • See the work in person on a team trip
Want to meet the children?

Come and See: Travel With Us to Ukraine

Shawn Sullivan, our President, travels to Ukraine multiple times each year and leads specialized teams and volunteers to inspect the work in person. Board members and partners often join him. If you'd like to see the children and programs your sponsorship supports, we'd love to have you apply to join a future trip. Visits are arranged by our team, so you can experience the work fully while the children stay protected.

Learn about trips to Ukraine →  or email office@mission823.com

Questions partners ask

Sponsor a Child: Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to sponsor a child with Mission 823?
When you sponsor a child, your gift covers the cost of caring for a child in one of our programs in Ukraine, such as our family homes, healing youth camps, feeding programs and humanitarian relief. Gifts are pooled so that every child in the program receives care.
Will I be matched with one specific child or receive letters?
No. To protect the children we serve, we do not facilitate contact, letters or gifts between sponsors and individual children. You'll receive updates on the programs and children your sponsorship supports.
Can I meet the children I'm helping?
Yes, in person. Partners can apply to travel with Mission 823 to Ukraine to see the work firsthand. All visits are arranged and guided by our team. Email office@mission823.com to ask about future trips.
Can I sponsor a child monthly?
Yes. You can set up a recurring monthly gift on our sponsorship page. Monthly sponsorship helps us plan ahead and keep family homes, camps and meals going year-round.
How much of my gift reaches children in Ukraine?
Camp sponsorships go 100% to supporting children in Ukraine, with no administrative fees deducted. For other designated funds, 90% is sent directly to the projects, with 10% set aside for administration and management.
Is my child sponsorship tax-deductible?
Yes. Mission 823, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 82-5088294). Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and you'll receive a thank-you email and year-end tax statement.
Who cares for the children day to day?
Our work is led by an all-Ukrainian team through Mission 823's registered Ukrainian nonprofit, with trained, licensed parents and caregivers serving the children. The team reports regularly to our President and U.S. board of directors.
Is Mission 823 a Christian organization?
Yes. Mission 823 is a Christian organization, and our work is motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ. That same faith compels us to serve everyone in need. We do not discriminate in providing services on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or any other protected status. We serve children and families in need regardless of their background or beliefs, as far as our resources allow. Read more in our full FAQ.
Become a partner today

A Child in Ukraine Is Waiting for Someone Like You

Join the partners who are defending, rescuing and restoring Ukraine's most vulnerable children. Sponsor a child today.

Sponsor A Child Questions? Call (352) 432-8587 or email office@mission823.com
Candid Seal of Transparency 2026 Charity Navigator