Did you know: 1.2 million young Australians are living below the poverty line, affecting not only their home life, but their education and prospects for future employment?
Dedicated to tackling this problem, The Smith Family is Australia’s leading children’s education charity. Its flagship program, Learning for Life, provides over 57,000 young Australians with the support they need to secure a brighter future through education.
The program supports students financially so they can afford school essentials, educationally through the provision of additional learning programs outside of school, and emotionally through dedicated one on one support.
The Smith Family’s Head of Strategy and Philanthropy, Judy Barraclough, said this proven three-pronged approach is allowing children across Australia to participate fully in their education and set themselves up for continued success after they leave school.
One of the companies supporting The Smith Family’s work is leading water infrastructure company, Interflow. Interflow’s liaison for The Smith Family, Debbie Alston, explains the importance of their corporate partnership.
“We believe that education is a fundamental right that no child should be denied,” she stated.
By working together, The Smith Family and their corporate sponsors are changing the lives of thousands of children and young adults annually.
Judy Barraclough shares why this mission is so important.
“One in six Australian children and young people live in poverty today, yet with critical community support, including from our corporate partners, our Learning for Life program is able to run in partnership with over 740 schools across Australia,” she said.
She added, this enables us to provide students with the wrap-around learning and mentoring support they need to stay engaged in their education and realise their full potential.
“It has the power to break the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of Australians for generations to come.”