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The Smith Family is urging the public to ‘donate before it’s too late’

Media releases

19 December 2013

With less than one week to go before Christmas, donations from The Smith Family’s Christmas Appeal are still 45% short of reaching the fundraising target of $4.06 million.

The Smith Family relies on the generosity of thousands of Australians to help vulnerable children and young people get the education they deserve and if we don’t reach our target, up to 10,000 children will miss out on the vital support they need to ensure their disadvantage won’t follow them into adulthood.

Financial disadvantage currently affects a staggering 638,000¹ children around Australia. It’s a frightening reality that these children, through no fault of their own, are being prevented from accessing the same educational opportunities as their peers.

The Smith Family believes that education is the key to changing lives. As research has shown, supporting a child’s education is one of the most effective ways of breaking the cycle of disadvantage and with the help and support of all Australians we can break this cycle together.

The Smith Family’s CEO, Dr Lisa O’Brien, is calling on all Australians to donate before it’s too late, so that every child can thrive at school, create a better future and not get left behind.

“The Smith Family is only halfway towards where we need to be, and we urgently need the public to dig deep and donate to our Christmas Appeal. By reaching our target we can help 10,000 children and young people start the New Year on a brighter note,” said Dr O’Brien. “That’s 10,000 Aussie kids who can begin 2014 confident that they will have access the same educational opportunities and resources as their peers.”

You can donate to our Christmas Appeal by visiting our website www.thesmithfamily.com.au/donate or by calling 1800 024 069.

What the Christmas Appeal will support

The Smith Family aims to raise $4 million which will provide 10,000 children and young people with access to our learning support and mentoring programs to give them the very best start in life:

iTrack – a career mentoring program for young people in Years 9-11. We match young people with volunteer mentors over a period of 19 weeks with the aim of expanding their horizons about post-school options and careers. It’s all about raising aspirations and supporting them to make the right decisions.
student2student – The Smith Family matches young students who need help with their literacy skills with ‘reading buddies’ – peer mentors – who are specially trained to help develop literacy skills in others. Research shows that one of the best ways to support primary and early secondary level students who have reading difficulties, is for the help to come from others around the same age.
Learning Clubs – children from disadvantaged families are less likely to have access to the resources they need to do well at school – from books and a quiet place to study, to parents who can help with their homework.

Our Learning Clubs give children safe, supportive after-school learning environments where they can access the resources and help they need.

Media Inquiries: Kate Nash, PR and Media Advisor, The Smith Family, phone (03) 9473 4302 or 0406 997 647, kate.nash@thesmithfamily.com.au

¹Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013) Labour Force Australia: Labour force status and other characteristics of families, June 2012

Media contacts:

Andrew Dickson | National Media Manager (National) - 0421 285 529 | andrew.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au
Carla Horton | Senior Media Advisor (QLD & WA) - 0423 618 776 | carla.horton@thesmithfamily.com.au
Reid Jermyn | Media Advisor (VIC, SA & NT) - 0412 803 566 | reid.jermyn@thesmithfamily.com.au
Ben Chenoweth | Senior Media Advisor (NSW, ACT & TAS) - 0413 346 934 | ben.chenoweth@thesmithfamily.com.au

The Smith Family is a national children’s education charity that helps young Australians experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves through harnessing the power of education. We partner with around 800 Australian schools and work with over 162,000 children and young people experiencing disadvantage access our education support programs to help them overcome . For more information, visit thesmithfamily.com.au