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The Smith Family and VIEW Clubs of Australia welcomes the Governor General as Patron of both organisations

Media releases

15 November 2024

The Smith Family and VIEW Clubs of Australia are delighted to announce that, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, the Governor General of Australia, has agreed to be Patron of the two organisations.

Her Excellency has decades of experience in business and community leadership and advocating for women and community organisations.

The Smith Family’s CEO, Doug Taylor, said The Smith Family is thrilled to have the patronage of the Governor General.

“We know from our meetings with Her Excellency that she has an incredible passion for building and promoting strong communities,” he said.

“We look forward to working with the Governor General to engage her in our work in communities across Australia, connect her with the families we support, highlight the issues experienced by children and young people with their education and what are the solutions we offer to the barriers they face.”

“Her Excellency has demonstrated through her professional life a commitment to women’s issues and the welfare of children in the community, two important issues that align with our purpose,” said VIEW National President Elizabeth Birch.

“We are looking forward to linking her with our members and showing her the difference that our members make to children and families experiencing disadvantage.

About The Smith Family
The Smith Family is a national children's charity that has helped Australians experiencing disadvantage for over 100 years. In the last four decades, its focus has been to empower children to create their own futures through the power of education.

The Smith Family supports over 178,000 children and young people through 784 partner schools in 91 communities across Australia; with over 67,000 of those through its flagship Learning for Life sponsorship program which provides a combination of financial, personal and tailored out-of-school academic support for their education.

With one in six Australian children living in poverty, Governor General Mostyn’s patronage will help shine a spotlight on issues impacting the educational outcomes of children experiencing disadvantage, The Smith Family’s evidence-based solutions, and how Australians can help.

About VIEW Clubs
VIEW (Voice, Interests and Education of Women) Clubs of Australia was founded by The Smith Family in 1960 as a service to women in the community who wanted to share ideas, learn new skills, form friendships and give back to their communities through supporting the work of The Smith Family.

For nearly 65 years VIEW has supported The Smith Family, providing an important source of volunteers, fundraising, connection in local communities and advocating for the education of young Australians in need. Today VIEW is proud to be the largest community sponsor of students on The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program.

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