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Supporters like you are giving the powerful gift of reading

17 March 2023

A love of reading is one of the greatest gifts a child can receive. And for 12-year-old Jamal, supporters like you have helped give him the support he needs to unlock the wonderful world of reading.  

Jamal lives in a busy household with his parents and five siblings. Sam was a single mum to Jamal and his two brothers before meeting Matt. Now with their combined family, they have a vibrant and bustling household of six young children. 

Partners Matt and Sam both work hard to provide for their family. Sam works full-time as a disability worker, often working early mornings and late nights. When Matt isn’t working part-time as an upholsterer, he is playing dad’s taxi – taking the kids to school and afternoon sports. Both Matt and Sam are very passionate about supporting their children’s interests. They coach their soccer teams too. 

Experiencing serious hardship can compound the day-to-day struggles for families like Matt and Sam’s. Despite their best efforts, it can be hard for Matt and Sam to give Jamal and his siblings the learning support they need at home so they can catch up and thrive at school.

Matt and Sam were relieved when their school offered Jamal and his two brothers a place in our out-of-school peer reading program student2student. The boys have been part of the student2student program for the past year. Here, they receive one-to-one reading assistance from a student volunteer reading buddy.

This is a wonderful example of how supporters like you give students like Jamal the crucial extra learning help they need to catch up with their schoolwork and realise their potential.

“The Smith Family’s support has helped take the pressure off”, says Matt. “Through student2student the boys have more freedom, confidence and responsibility to take charge of their own learning.”

The boys have improved their reading by leaps and bounds since joining student2student. “The student2student reading program is so good for the boys,” says Sam. “Each week, I see their reading and writing improve. They get to learn new words. And this helps their overall confidence and learning at school.”

Jamal has noticed a difference in his reading too, It’s wonderful to see how caring people like you are continuing to empower children living in disadvantage so they can unlock their full potential. We can’t wait to see how Jamal’s learning progresses now that he has the extra support he needs to thrive.

I can pronounce words better and I get better at reading every time I read with my buddies. I like reading in front of the class much better now too!
Jamal, student2student participant
Read more student and family stories in our Autumn 2023 edition of Real People, Real Stories
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