There are still 4,532 Australian children who need extra learning support by this Christmas.

Our Programs
- Literacy programs
  Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.
- Technology programs
  Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.
- Numeracy programs
  We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.
- Learning for Life
  Providing holistic, long-term support for disadvantaged young Australians throughout their education.
- Mentoring programs
  Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs
  Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.
Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs
Get Involved
- Ways to fundraise
  Learn about fundraising and give back to the community with The Smith Family.
- Volunteer with us
  Share your skills to help Australian children in need transform their lives through education.
- Partnerships
  Learn how your organisation can partner with The Smith Family and help build a better future for Australian children in need.
- Careers
  We aim to provide a working environment where staff and volunteers have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
- Events
  Participate in events and activities that support young Australians experiencing disadvantage.
- VIEW clubs of Australia
  Learn about VIEW, a leading women’s volunteer organisation and support network with over 16,000 members, across Australia.
Ways to Give
- Sponsor a child
  Through child sponsorship, you will be matched to an Australian child in need, helping to support the cost of their school essentials.
- A gift in your will
  Ensure that future generations of Australian children have the support they need to make the most of their education.
- Monthly donation
  Become a monthly donor and provide continual support throughout all stages of a child’s education.
- Philanthropic giving
  Through your philanthropy, you can ensure that young Australians impacted by poverty get the education that all children deserve.
- Single donation
  Your donation will help young Australians in need by providing access to our Learning for Life education support programs.
- Workplace giving
  Making small, regular donations to The Smith Family through Workplace Giving is an easy way to help change the lives of young Australians living in poverty.
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Learning for Life

Helping young Australians reach their full potential

Every child should have the opportunity to achieve all they are capable of.

Through no fault of their own, children experiencing poverty often start school behind their peers. Without access to the vital resources, opportunities, and support that all children need to achieve their best, they can fall even further behind ─ making it more difficult for them to stay fully engaged in their education and go on to employment, training, or further study.

Having The Smith Family’s support has definitely helped Shelby with his learning. He got really excited to go to school after he started receiving learning support, because he said that he was finally ‘getting it’. You could see the change in him – he was more confident with what he was doing at school.

Shelby’s mum, Sandy

What is Learning for Life?

The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program is an innovative, evidence-based program that is successful in achieving long-term outcomes for young people experiencing disadvantage.

Through targeted support that begins early in a child’s life and continues throughout their first two decades, Learning for Life keeps students engaged at every stage of their education by providing:

financial support to help families meet the cost of school essentials like uniforms, books, and excursions;
guidance and advice from a dedicated Learning for Life Coordinator to make sure students and their families have the practical and emotional support they need throughout their education; and
ongoing access to our targeted programs like Learning Clubs to help students catch up, and mentoring programs like iTrack to help build the skills to thrive at school and beyond.

Making a Difference

We partner with more than 67,165 families through our Learning for Life sponsorships, empowering young Australians to achieve their full potential with access to targeted long-term support.

This support helps a child stay engaged with school and complete Year 12. Graduating from high school is linked to better employment, income and health outcomes, as well as greater social participation and the opportunity to be self-reliant in the future.

Take a look at some of the outcomes experienced by Australian students who have participated in our programs.

83.8%

average school attendance rate for high school students who participated in Learning for Life in 2021.³

83%

of Learning for Life students in Year 12 were employed or in study 18 months after graduating from high school.³

75%

of students said that attending Learning Clubs helped them do better in class.⁴

Research shows Year 9 students from disadvantaged backgrounds are on average 4.5 years behind in reading and 3.2 years behind in maths compared to their more advantaged peers.²

Our research

You can read more about how Learning for Life is proven to improve educational outcomes for students living with disadvantage, in our report Improving the educational outcomes of disadvantaged young Australians: The Learning for Life program.

Download report

The Smith Family does a wonderful job of opening a young person's eyes to the opportunities available to them, and that we’ll be there to support them in their journey to grasp that opportunity.

Darrin Allen, Program Coordinator

Our learning programs

Learning clubs

A safe and supportive out-of-school learning environment where primary or secondary students can participate in activities that develop their academic and social skills.

Literacy programs

Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.

Numeracy programs

We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.

Technology programs

Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.

Mentoring programs

Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.

Work experience programs

We provide work experience programs for students living with disadvantage, to help them explore their future career options and potential job opportunities.

Financial programs

We offer financial programs for parents facing disadvantage and an interactive high school program, building youth financial literacy, decision-making skills, and future awareness.

Arts programs

Our arts programs aim to increase school engagement, build creative skills, self-confidence, expand social networks and explore post-school options.

Community programs

We partner with government, schools, families, and other service providers to improve educational outcomes for children.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs

Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.

¹Poverty in Australia, 2022, ACOSS/UNSW Report.
² Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), NAPLAN results 20223
³2022-2023 TSF Annual Report
⁴ The Smith Family’s Learning Clubs Program Outcomes Summary, 2022.