Declan gave books a second chance and found joy in the pages

At age 10, Year 5 student Declan would tell anyone who’d listen he hoped to be a policeman one day. But Declan’s mum Cassandra felt worried about his reading problems and low confidence. Both could block him from his dream.

Cassandra was unable to support Declan’s learning as much as she’d like, especially with reading, which he didn’t enjoy. “Declan’s biological father is dyslexic, and we suspect this got passed on to him too,” she says.

When Declan was invited to join The Smith Family’s learning programs, Cassandra was impressed by the range of extracurricular activities he could join to help him catch up and keep up. “I thought the programs were excellent,” she says.

Through our Digital Access program, made possible by our philanthropic partners, Declan received a free laptop. This helped him stay connected to his class during lockdowns.

“At the time, I was struggling to even cover our groceries and petrol, so we really couldn’t afford an internet connection,” says Cassandra. “But Declan also received free WiFi through The Smith Family. That made a massive difference to us".

Even so, remote lessons were tough for Declan and his learning suffered setbacks. “I was so relieved when he could finally go back to school,” Cassandra says. It was then Declan decided to join student2student, our out-of-school reading peer support program.