Jesus cares about children and so do we.
We are a Christian charity dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
Our Story
From Korea to the whole world
"Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.'"
Matthew 15:32
Pastor Everett Swanson was deeply impacted by the devastation and misery he witnessed during his time in South Korea in 1952. Roaming the streets of Seoul, he encountered orphaned children dressed in rags, sleeping in doorways to shelter from the cold, while scavenging among the debris left by the Korean War. Moved by the situation, Swanson felt a calling to action after discovering that the rags being carried away in garbage trucks were actually the bodies of children who had died overnight.
Inspired by his faith, Swanson trusted in God and committed himself to helping these disadvantaged children. Upon returning to Chicago, he founded Compassion in 1952, gathering concerned Christians to support homeless Korean orphans. Compassion's mission was to provide education, clothing, food, and other basic necessities to these needy children.
The name "Compassion" arose from reading Matthew 15:32, where Jesus shows compassion towards the hungry crowd. Swanson dedicated himself to working with various disadvantaged groups, including beggar children, widows, single mothers, lepers, the deaf, and the blind. With the assistance of Christian orphanages, 10,000 Korean children were cared for within a span of ten years.
To provide ongoing support, Swanson created an individual sponsorship program, allowing people worldwide to provide Christian instruction, food, clothing, housing, and medical care in exchange for a small monthly contribution. This act of love and compassion transformed countless lives and established a lasting model of humanitarian aid.
Our Values
The "three-strand approach" to ministry
Taken individually, each strand is not unique. However, when taken together and combined with our Statement of Faith—why we serve, how we serve, and whom we serve—it creates a distinctive approach to ministry.
Christ
Christian values are at the heart of our activities. To fight poverty, we must meet children's needs while also offering them a message full of love that God loves all children.
Children
We are committed to all children living in extreme poverty: we work to ensure that the little ones can develop physically, economically, psychologically, and spiritually.
Church
We work for children through churches. Local communities commit to responding to the needs of children most in need by assessing the needs of families in the village.
Compassion. A movement. A call. A cause. A people.
Help us reduce the number of children living in extreme poverty by sponsoring a child.
2.3 Million
Children being served
Last year, we empowered more than 8,500 local partner churches.
1.5 Million
Medical Interventions
Last year we provided medical care like emergency surgeries, injury treatments and trauma counseling to more than 1.5 million vulnerable children.
10.6 Million
Family Food Packs
Last year, we enabled local churches to reach out to hungry families and provide them with the vital nutrition they need to thrive.
7.6 Million
Hygiene Kits
Last year we delivered 7.6 Million hygiene care kits to fight diseases that threaten children in poverty.
$16 Million
to help in natural disasters
Last year, we supplied local churches worldwide with resources to respond when natural disasters affect the most vulnerable.
1.3 Million
Letters Written to Children
Last year, we delivered 1.3 million letters written by sponsors to encourage their sponsored children, providing hope for their future.
Our commitment with the sponsors
For more than 70 years we have worked to release children from poverty in Jesus' name and have trusted the ability of our church partners to create environments of unparalleled stability where children can experience God's love and acceptance in tangible ways. We are, and have always been, Christ-centered, church-driven and child-focused. That is simply who we are. And we commit to remaining so. Because that is what God intends for us to be.
Consistently, we receive some of the highest possible ratings from charity evaluators and watchdogs.
