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The Smith Family riding towards $1.2M fundraising goal

21 October 2014

The Smith Family would like to congratulate all fundraising riders who took part in the Bupa Around the Bay - Ride for a Child in Need cycling event on Sunday 19 October.

For over 21 years, The Smith Family has been the event's major charity partner and this year's goal is to raise $1.2 million which will provide education support for 2,325 disadvantaged children for one year. So far, just over $900,000 has been reached and with donations continuing to stream through online, fundraising is expected to continue right up until the end of the year.

The Smith Family's Victorian General Manager (and keen cyclist), Mr Anton Leschen said donations raised by fundraising riders means the charity will be able to support more disadvantaged children in their education.

"A significant minority of young people - vulnerable and disadvantaged young Australians - are simply not getting the education they deserve," Mr Leschen said.

"It's alarming to hear that over 350,000 Australian children regularly miss out on at least two essential child items, such as up-to-date school books and new school clothes, or the opportunity to participate in school activities.

"If kids miss out on the things they need for school then they're not going to succeed.

"If we can reach our fundraising target, we can put a significant dent in this figure and support more children and young people in need succeed in their education," said Mr Leschen.

This year saw over 12,000 cyclists taking on the Around the Bay challenge. Among them were identical twins on unicycle; Victoria's largest all-female cycling group, The Wheel Women; The Pirates Sporting Club who rode 210km on Melbourne Share Bikes; and, our very own Smith Family All Stars team.

As registration fees for Bupa Around the Bay go directly to Bicycle Network, The Smith Family only benefits when participants decide to fundraise as well as ride, and we wish to thank and congratulate all our fundraising riders for their commitment to helping Aussie kids get the most out of their education.

For further information or to sponsor a rider, please visit https://aroundthebayfundraising.com.au

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