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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Child Sponsorship
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Experiential Mentoring

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in remote communities are not always exposed to the same social and work experiences as children from the city.

Without these opportunities or life skills beyond their own communities, high school students may not realise the range of possibilities available to them once they complete their education, or the work involved in getting there.

Lack of incentives and motivation can negatively impact on a high school student’s ability to complete Year 12, and achieve their own life goals.

Lloyd and Gavin ready to take off in a plane for Experiential Mentoring program

What is Experiential Mentoring?

Student learning hair braiding at an African salon

Our Experiential Mentoring program helps to raise aspirations and motivate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students to have higher expectations of themselves. It achieves this by providing opportunities for its participants to have a supported experience outside their community, sometimes in a large city. This may include negotiating transport, interacting with strangers, visiting educational institutions or other experiences they may not usually encounter in their home community.

How Experiential Mentoring helps

The program allows young people to experience a different social life, discover work opportunities in urban mainstream society and gain an understanding of what is possible beyond their own community and everyday life. Students take what they have learnt back to their communities to help shape a better future.

One Indigenous girl visiting Melbourne University on a city-stay said, ‘remember my face because I’m going to finish Year 12 and win a scholarship here’.

An adult observer of the program commented, “It is really important to get the girls out of Alice Springs and out of their comfort zones. To hear the kids come back from somewhere like Melbourne, all abuzz, well - they have a different perspective.”

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs

Experiential Mentoring

What is Experiential Mentoring?

How Experiential Mentoring helps

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs

Girls at the Centre

Our actions toward reconciliation

Reconciliation Action Plan