Sponsorship helps Ava overcome barriers to her education.

Yes. We encourage sponsors and children to exchange cards and letters throughout the year - although it is entirely optional. Many sponsors and their students find this an extremely rewarding part of the program. We’ll even send you a reminder before your students birthday so you can send a card if you wish. All correspondence between students and sponsors is exchanged through The Smith Family to ensure that it complies with our guidelines and that privacy is maintained at all times.

The My Smith Family Portal also enables you to write electronically, quickly and easily and can be accessed here.

To find out more about writing to your student, please visit this page.

To be eligible for Learning for Life sponsorship families must meet the following criteria:

• live in a community where The Smith Family has a presence;
• possess a Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card;
• demonstrate a commitment to education (i.e. children must attend school regularly);
• be referred to us by a community organisation such as a school.

To remain on the Learning for Life sponsorship program families must:

• show a commitment to their child’s education by ensuring children attend school;
• complete a student profile each year (a written update which is sent to their sponsor);
• provide a copy of their end of year school reports (for Smith Family administration and not shared with the sponsor);
• keep receipts of educational expenses and be able to show these as requested.

Research confirms that the best way to help children break the cycle of disadvantage is by helping them get the most out of their education.

Everything that we do is backed by research, and we know that sponsorship is making a difference because we measure the success of all of our programs.

Sponsorship supports children in need so they can:

• attend school regularly,
• complete Year 12, and
• move onto further education and employment post school.

We measure a child’s school attendance, advancement and engagement after school. We can proudly report that we are continuing to improve in these areas year on year – as featured in our Annual Report.

You can also follow your child’s progression through school by corresponding with them.

Since the end of the 1990s The Smith Family has focused its activities on providing disadvantaged children with a hand up through education support rather than a hand out through emergency relief or traditional welfare activities, including blankets, food parcels and furniture.

Research shows supporting a child’s education and learning is one of the most effective means of breaking the cycle of disadvantage and this is what The Smith Family is all about today.

The Smith Family forms a partnership agreement with every family that comes onto the Learning for Life program. This is a rigorous process to ensure that your money is used as set out in the agreement. Our students are referred by our partner schools, and their families must possess a Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card to be eligible for support. To remain on the sponsorship program supported families must keep receipts of educational expenses and be able to show these as requested, as well as return partnership paperwork (e.g. student profiles and student attendance reports).