We support parents and early years educators in developing the maths skills of the children in their care so that they can establish the necessary foundation skills.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students face additional challenges in their journey through and beyond school.
Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
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Making small, regular donations to The Smith Family through Workplace Giving is an easy way to help change the lives of young Australians living in poverty.
“My mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour when I was 11, so it was really tough on my family and me. Being the eldest child, I had to step up and take on a lot of responsibilities at home, so school was no longer a priority,” said Learning for Life student, Quynhi, now aged 21.
“For many years after that I was playing catch up because of the amount of time I had taken off school. I missed out on a lot of learning opportunities that my peers had, such as excursions and camps, because of the limited family income we had.
That’s why I’m so grateful to The Smith Family. Ever since they were involved in my life through the Learning for Life program, they have encouraged me to achieve my best.
“That’s why I’m so grateful to The Smith Family. Ever since they were involved in my life through the Learning for Life program, they have encouraged me to achieve my best. They have played an important role in my achievements by providing me with the resources and opportunities that I needed to become the first female in my family to attend university.
“That’s how I see it. But my mum feels that they allowed her to focus on her recovery while still being able to support her children to get the education that they deserved.”
The generosity of our supporters, sponsors and volunteers has meant the world to Quynhi. So she now looks for every opportunity to help other students in need.
“The Smith Family really inspired me to give back to my community. I’m studying a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy and have volunteered at a special needs school where I get to meet amazing children,” said Quynhi.
“I also work at Officeworks. I have really enjoyed being part of their Back to School Appeal (which also supports The Smith Family) this year. It’s so important that we all contribute in some small way to provide disadvantaged students like myself with the opportunity to explore and further their education.”
The Smith Family really inspired me to give back to my community.
Seynab came to Australia from Somalia when she was just nine years old. Her mother passed away, so she and her seven siblings came to live with their grandmother in Brisbane. Coming to a new country with a new language was daunting enough, let alone fitting into a whole new schooling system. While Seynab’s grandmother gave her so much support, she didn’t speak English either, and had never had a formal education, so it was hard to know what to expect. But Seynab learned quickly, she picked up the language and was – in her own words – a ‘very studious’ pupil.
The Smith Family came into Seynab’s life when she was in high school. This support helped her grandmother buy uniforms, books, and stationery, but for Seynab the biggest impact on her life was the charity’s Learning Clubs. Seynab looked forward to these weekly after-school homework clubs. She would do her assignments with the help of a tutor and enjoyed getting to meet up with other students from the area.
Seynab was always good at science and loved to help people, so she decided nursing was the perfect career for her. She got into QUT and was supported for the duration of her studies through The Smith Family’s Tertiary Scholarship, which helped her buy things like textbooks and a laptop. In the final years of her degree, she was paired with a mentor who was also a nurse. This gave her real insights into the profession and allowed her to grow in her career.
Seynab is now a registered nurse at the Mater hospital in Brisbane, a job that gives her purpose, and one that she loves.
