Right now 15,000 children are urgently waiting for sponsors.

Our Programs
- Literacy programs
  Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.
- Technology programs
  Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.
- Numeracy programs
  We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.
- Learning for Life
  Providing holistic, long-term support for disadvantaged young Australians throughout their education.
- Mentoring programs
  Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs
  Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.
Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs
Get Involved
- Ways to fundraise
  Learn about fundraising and give back to the community with The Smith Family.
- Volunteer with us
  Share your skills to help Australian children in need transform their lives through education.
- Partnerships
  Learn how your organisation can partner with The Smith Family and help build a better future for Australian children in need.
- Careers
  We aim to provide a working environment where staff and volunteers have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
- Events
  Participate in events and activities that support young Australians experiencing disadvantage.
- VIEW clubs of Australia
  Learn about VIEW, a leading women’s volunteer organisation and support network with over 16,000 members, across Australia.
Ways to Give
- Sponsor a child
  Through child sponsorship, you will be matched to an Australian child in need, helping to support the cost of their school essentials.
- A gift in your will
  Ensure that future generations of Australian children have the support they need to make the most of their education.
- Monthly donation
  Become a monthly donor and provide continual support throughout all stages of a child’s education.
- Philanthropic giving
  Through your philanthropy, you can ensure that young Australians impacted by poverty get the education that all children deserve.
- Single donation
  Your donation will help young Australians in need by providing access to our Learning for Life education support programs.
- Workplace giving
  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.
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Child Sponsorship
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Your Learning for Life Sponsor

A sponsor is a person who cares about your child’s education and gives money to support their scholarship payment. Did you know you can write to your sponsor? Many families and sponsors enjoy writing to each other.

Your child may have more than one sponsor while on the Learning for Life scholarship. Two sponsors are needed to help cover the full cost of the Learning for Life program for each child. Your child will receive the full benefits of the Learning for Life program, regardless of how many sponsors they have.

Watch this video to find out more (Please note: watching this video will use internet data)

Conversation Starters

We know it can sometimes be hard to know what to write to your sponsor/s. Did you know that you can write them a letter, a story, a poem or draw them a picture or complete a colouring in?

What You Can Include

You can tell your sponsor about your:

First name – (if you have an unusual first name which might make
you easy to identify,you can choose another name.
The purpose of this is to protect your privacy)
Age
State or Territory where you live
Hobbies
Friends
Favourite games or interests
Pets

Do not tell your sponsor about your:

Last name
School details
Home suburb
Email address
Social media address
Photos
Date of birth
Any other information that could identify you, members of your family
or your friends.

How to write to your sponsor

You or your child can write to your sponsor/s at any time during the year. All correspondence between students and sponsors is checked by our team of volunteers before we forward it on. This ensures we maintain your privacy and confidentiality as well as the sponsors.

You can send messages, emails, letters, or cards to your sponsor in the following ways:

Mail
Send your letters and cards to:

Reply Paid 10500 South Brisbane BC Qld 4101

Email
You can send your sponsor an email to scholarshipsupport@thesmithfamily.com.au and we will forward this on to your sponsor. Please include your child’s name and their Smith Family ID and if you have it your sponsor’s ID in the email. The sponsor’s ID is on emails we send you.

Unique links
On occasion you may receive an email from us containing a unique link. You can click on this link to write a message to your sponsor using our e-form online.

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions you might have about writing to your sponsor/s

Popular Searches

Your Learning for Life Sponsor

Conversation Starters

What You Can Include

FAQs

How can we write to our sponsor?

Why do we have communication guidelines for our families and sponsors?

Will our sponsor write back to us ?

What can we write to our sponsor?

Does my child need to complete the Student Profile?

What happens if my child’s sponsor stops sponsoring?

Why do some children have two sponsors?

I have several children on the Learning for Life program but have only received an introduction email for one child. What does this mean?

I received an email introducing my child’s sponsor, but it says 'Sponsor name not available', what does this mean?

Any questions

Sponsored students stories

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