OneChild uses the Bridgely app to serve supporters and frontline communities. For example, registering children, sponsorship, managing payments, receipting, communicating updates, and many other core processes are done using Bridgely. Supporters and frontline leaders receive updates in near real time; can ask questions, send videos and other content; and become even more engaged within their Cause Communities.

When you sponsor a child through a OneChild on Bridgely Cause Community, you not only send and receive photos and videos with your sponsored child but also connect directly to the Frontline Facilitators of the Hope Center and to other Child Champions in your community. Here, you can celebrate the locally led work for the kids in community.

Yes. Download the Bridgely app by scanning the QR code below; from Google Play or the Apple App Store; or by scanning a QR code you received at an event. Complete the easy sign-up, and then browse and join one or more Cause Communities on the app. You can join Cause Communities with no obligation, whether or not you sponsor a child.

Not yet. If you did not sponsor your child through Bridgely, you will continue to communicate with your child through letters. Because there are more than 50,000 children in the OneChild program, only children at new Hope Centers are being connected through Bridgely at this time.

We want to connect sponsors and children at existing Hope Centers through Bridgely in the future, but it will take a little time. However, if you prefer to write to your child electronically, you may do so at OneChild.org/Write.

Sponsors not on Bridgely can still reduce overhead by arranging automatic payment via bank account instead of a credit/debit card, which saves on processing fees.

A OneChild on Bridgely Cause Community is an online community made up of Supporting Partners, sponsors, Child Champions serving the kids, and others who care about the kids in that particular hard place.

It’s a place to connect and share updates, prayer requests, photos, videos and words of encouragement with everyone in the community, rallying together to support the kids and celebrate impact. The Cause Community brings everyone in the community closer together around the cause of helping kids thrive.

Joining a Cause Community in Bridgely is free, and you may join a Cause Community even if you don’t sponsor a child there.

To join a Cause Community, download the Bridgely app from Google Play or the Apple App Store, or scan a QR code you received at an event. Complete the easy sign-up, and then browse and join one or more Cause Communities on the app. You can join Cause Communities with no obligation, whether or not you sponsor a child.

Yes, you need to join a Cause Community to see the children in that community who are waiting for sponsors. You can join multiple Cause Communities if you’d like, and joining a community does not obligate you to sponsor a child.

Most people who receive that message are joining both Bridgely and a Cause Community for the first time. If you were already on Bridgely, we apologize for any confusion and are grateful that you joined another Cause Community.

Participants in Cause Communities can send messages at any time. Child Champions respond to participants’ questions and post general updates on the community at least once per month.

Download the Bridgely app by finding it on Google Play or the Apple App Store and join a Cause Community to see children waiting for sponsors. If you scanned a QR code you received at an event, you will already see the children in your Cause Community, and you can choose a child or look for a particular child’s photo and name (organized alphabetically). Select your child’s photo and tap the yellow “Sponsor” button to fill out your information and finalize your sponsorship.

To minimize costs and enhance your experience as a supporter, all communication regarding your sponsored child and his or her community will be conducted through the Bridgely app.

The Posts tab contains general information about the ministry, including community updates, prayer requests and communications that aren’t child-specific. The Conversations tab is where all child communication posts are published.

Like most subscriptions, Bridgely only accepts recurring monthly donations.

Stewardship and transparency are top priorities. For detailed financial information, please visit our financial integrity page.

A campaign is a specific fundraiser within a Cause Community. You can donate to campaigns as another way to support your sponsored child and his or her community.

With OneChild on Bridgely, you can send videos, photos and messages directly to your sponsored child through the Bridgely app. A Frontline Facilitator will translate and share your message with your sponsored child. After sponsoring, navigate to the homepage and select your sponsored child in the “My Causes” section to start a conversation, or post your message or video through the Conversations tab in your Cause Community. The facilitator will also share any messages from your child to you.

OneChild on Bridgely Cause Communities are not intended for daily use like a typical social app. We encourage our Frontline Facilitators to provide monthly updates to sponsors about their sponsored children or their Hope Centers on “Bridgely Day” so that most of their time is spent caring for the children in their program.

Enable push notifications in your profile on the app and make sure notifications are turned on in your phone’s settings.

Words of encouragement for sponsored children and the Child Champions are always welcome. Consider telling your sponsored children you are praying for them, asking for their prayers and reminding them that they are loved. You can also encourage and celebrate other members of your Cause Community.

Because standards of dress may be different in your sponsored child’s culture, please do not send photos or videos showing people in beachwear or immodest clothing. Please also don’t send photos that focus on possessions, since this only highlights the disparity between the material wealth many of us enjoy and your sponsored child’s poverty.

Cause Communities are places to build friendships and foster learning across cultures. Kindness is key. Content that doesn’t uphold the dignity of all people will be removed.

Selling products or services, discussing politics or other topics of controversy, and inappropriate messages will be cause for removal from the community.

For suggestions on the types of messages to send your sponsored child, see “What should I write about?” and “What should I not write about?” in our Sponsorship FAQs.

OneChild is committed to keeping children in our program safe. Therefore, it is not possible to communicate directly with a child through Bridgely. Child Champions like the Frontline Facilitator relay messages from sponsors to their children and from the children to their sponsors.

As another safety precaution, all communications in the Cause Community are public, and sharing direct contact information is prohibited. To learn more about our overall approach to child protection, visit the Sponsorship FAQs.

All sponsor communications and posts in the Cause Community are made public to safeguard both users and children through community moderation. Transparency discourages inappropriate communication and behavior. Any member of a Cause Community can flag a post, which will notify the community ambassador to review and remove if necessary.

The Bridgely app is working on a feature that allows you to add a special monetary gift for your sponsored child or his or her family. We’ll let you know when it’s ready!

For more information on child sponsorship and the OneChild program, see our general Sponsorship FAQs.