There are still 4,532 Australian children who need extra learning support by this Christmas.

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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Partnership Profile

a group of tertiary students together posing at university

University of Technology Sydney

In 2014, we renewed our partnership with University of Technology Sydney. Both our organisations share a commitment to improving the educational outcomes of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, so what can we achieve by leveraging our respective strengths and skills?

Andrew Connolly, Manager of Equity and Diversity at UTS, provided one answer when he invited Smith Family team members onto the Sydney campus to share their story and witness the UTS Summer School in action.

Reflecting on the event, Andrew said: “our interaction with The Smith Family was a valuable way to create communities of practice that realise the mutual benefit of partnership. Embedding collaborative learning opportunities within [UTS’s] routine work practices are extremely valuable for our extended thinking and action beyond organisational boundaries.”

Head of Policy and Programs for The Smith Family, Wendy Field agreed, commenting that: “the UTS day was a fantastic opportunity to build an on already-strong partnership.”

“By sharing our own work – our strategies, our program evaluation and our significant research – with partners such as UTS, we can strengthen each organisation’s expertise, and as a result, the impact of our work.”

UTS has supported our work in the Wiley Park community in South West Sydney since 2008. In 2014, we provided Learning for Life scholarships to almost 300 Wiley Park students, with UTS being one of our most productive supporters of this community. Through Learning for Life, each student is provided with financial support from their sponsor for their education essentials, support and guidance from a community-based Program Coordinator who also links them and their family to literacy, numeracy and mentoring programs which strengthen their engagement with learning.

Andrew Connolly sees our partnership evolving to create new dimensions. January’s event was “an opportunity to share strategic goals, program responses, and evaluation outcomes. Immediately apparent on this day was the passion that both teams have for supporting students from disadvantaged communities to aspire, access and succeed in higher education, and the rigour of the practices in place to do this.”