What is Adopta Una Carta?
Adopta Una Carta (Adopt A Letter) was formed in Argentina in 2011 with the idea of bringing a better and brighter future to the children of Argentina. While the largest project of the year is near Christmas, we also hold various smaller projects throughout the year. In most cases, we use letters as a means to bring hope and happiness to the children currently interned at the Ricardo Gutiérrez Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
While we would love to help out on a much larger scale (see: long-term health solutions, education, etc.), we currently have the possibility to at the very least bring a moment of joy to each child that we come across. Throughout the years, we have been witnesses to situations of great sadness, most without prospect of resolution. Deplorable situations. Situations that we can’t even imagine what it would be like to experience. We know that we aren’t making any radical changes to the world, but we give our time, energy, heart and soul each year so that the children we are fortunate to get to know may have at least one shining moment in the midst of so much hardship.
On behalf of the entire Adopta Una Carta team–– thank you for your support.
How does it work?
1. WRITING
The Adopta Una Carta team visits the Ricardo Gutiérrez Children’s Hospital to help the children write letters to Santa Claus. The kids write their wishes, or in the case that they cannot for any reason, their parent/guardian or even one of our team members will help them to write the letter. The children’s wishes vary greatly–– from a small football or princess dress to bicycles and more. Each child has an opportunity to also decorate his or her card as they would like, using the crayons, markers, paints and stickers that our team brings along.
2. ADOPTION
Once the letters have been written and we have completed our database with all of the important information we receive at the hospital, we publish the letters so that they may be adopted. There are always more people wishing to adopt letters than letters to adopt. We do our best to distribute the letters to adopters in a fair and transparent manner. Since 2013, all of the letter adoptions are done via the Adopta Una Carta website.
3.ADQUISITION
Each adopter promises to acquire the item or items in each child’s letter. Once again, these wishes can vary greatly, however we have always had success in fulfilling those wishes one way or another. In the case that the wish is extremely complicated to find or difficult to acquire for whatever reason, our team will help resolve the search. Oftentimes the cards include mention of a sister or brother that would also like a gift. We also guarantee one way or another that those wishes are fulfilled. Also, each adopter is fully allowed to include any other gifts that they might like to give.
4. RECEPTION
For safety and quality control, all of the gifts destined to the children involved in the project are first turned in to the Adopta Una Carta team. There are several different ways to turn in the gifts. The main medium to do so is via one of our “Distribution Centers” set up strategically throughout the city of Buenos Aires. These “Distribution Centers” are typically storefronts or offices of personal friends of members of our team, and as such we will include detailed information for each site. We publish here on our website the addresses, schedules and contact information of each of the Distribution Centers. The other main opportunity to turn in the gifts is during a special event that we organize during the middle of the project in a plaza in the city. Visitors can also come to leave other gift donations at our stand.
5. DELIVERY!
The delivery process is without a doubt the most difficult and complicated part of the project. The first part of the process is a visit back to the children’s hospital to determine who is still there and who has already left. The children still at the hospital receive their gift immediately. The policy of the hospital is to send as many kids home as possible at the end of the year so that they may spend the holidays at home with their families. Sometimes the children come back for checkups, while often they stay at home. In the event that they stay at home, we have to deal with the enormous challenge of not only making the voyage out to their often distant homes, actually find their homes, and then finally have the good fortune to actually find someone home who can receive the gift. Many of the children that go to the Gutiérrez Hospital live in neighborhoods with dirt roads, in precarious buildings with no identifying characteristics. The difficulty of this part of the project is immense, so we are constantly working to find the best solution.