How can you help Australia’s disadvantaged youth?
Irrespective of the broad-reaching impact of COVID-19, this year has been especially tough for Australian children and young people growing up in poverty; those who cannot choose their circumstances.
According to the 2020 report* from ACOSS/UNSW on Poverty in Australia, 1 in 6 Australian children now live in poverty. For these children, even the most basic of life’s necessities are hard to come by.
Perhaps worse, children in families experiencing financial disadvantage are now more likely than ever to fall behind with their learning, since they generally have less access to vital learning materials and books in the home environment.
With most schools now requiring laptops or tablet computers for in-class and home learning, those who cannot afford these necessities struggle to achieve the continuity of education needed to succeed academically.
The Smith Family have been working to improve the lives of Australian children in Australia for over 100 years. Their flagship program – Learning for Life – supports 58,000 students with long-term support for their education and post-school support programs that aim to transition these children into the workplace.
Children who have a disadvantage in learning early on in life are more vulnerable to future hardships. They can often fall into what The Smith Family describes as the “Cycle of Disadvantage”.
The Smith Family aims to break this cycle by providing programs that give disadvantaged Australian children the support and resources they need to keep pace with the rest of the class.
This is achieved through a number of intervention initiatives such as learning clubs and programs aimed at the community, arts, literacy, numeracy and mentoring, amongst others.
The Smith Family relies heavily on donations from individuals and corporations to deliver these valuable programs. These donations help support young Australians to create better futures for themselves.
QuickFee makes an annual Christmas donation of $5,000 to the Smith Family. This donation aims to provide immediate support to the established programs to deliver long-term positive benefits for impacted children and their families.
To donate to The Smith Family, you can click here to set up a one-off or monthly donation to help provide access to learning and life education support programs.
*Poverty in Australia report link: https://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Poverty-in-Australia-2020_Part-1_Overview.pdf
Donation link: https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/donate
