Your Learning for Life Sponsor
A sponsor is a person who cares about your child’s education and gives money to support their scholarship payment. Did you know you can write to your sponsor? Many families and sponsors enjoy writing to each other.
Your child may have more than one sponsor while on the Learning for Life scholarship. Two sponsors are needed to help cover the full cost of the Learning for Life program for each child. Your child will receive the full benefits of the Learning for Life program, regardless of how many sponsors they have.
Watch this video to find out more (Please note: watching this video will use internet data)
Conversation Starters
We know it can sometimes be hard to know what to write to your sponsor/s. Did you know that you can write them a letter, a story, a poem or draw them a picture or complete a colouring in?
What You Can Include
You can tell your sponsor about your:
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Do not tell your sponsor about your:
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How to write to your sponsor
You or your child can write to your sponsor/s at any time during the year. All correspondence between students and sponsors is checked by our team of volunteers before we forward it on. This ensures we maintain your privacy and confidentiality as well as the sponsors.
You can send messages, emails, letters, or cards to your sponsor in the following ways:
Mail
Send your letters and cards to:
Reply Paid 10500 South Brisbane BC Qld 4101
Email
You can send your sponsor an email to scholarshipsupport@thesmithfamily.com.au and we will forward this on to your sponsor. Please include your child’s name and their Smith Family ID and if you have it your sponsor’s ID in the email. The sponsor’s ID is on emails we send you.
Unique links
On occasion you may receive an email from us containing a unique link. You can click on this link to write a message to your sponsor using our e-form online.
Below are some Frequently Asked Questions you might have about writing to your sponsor/s
FAQs
How can we write to our sponsor?
You or your child can write to your sponsors at any time during the year.
Please send letters or cards to:
Reply Paid 10500
South Brisbane
BC Qld 4101
or email scholarshipsupport@thesmithfamily.com.au
You can write as often as you like, but please include your sponsor’s ID on your correspondence. The sponsors ID is on the email we sent you. All correspondence between sponsors and families is sent to The Smith Family first for review. This ensures we maintain your privacy and confidentiality as well as the sponsors.
Why do we have communication guidelines for our families and sponsors?
The Smith Family is a child safe organisation. We always act in the best interests of children and to keep them safe. This includes keeping a child’s personal and sensitive information private. We always work in accordance with our Child Protection Framework. We maintain the privacy, confidentiality and safety of children and young people participating in our programs. For this reason, we monitor communications between sponsors and families. Any identifying information will be removed, and if a communication is considered inappropriate, it will not be shared.
If you would like to find out more, our child protection policy is available online here, our Statement of Commitment is here and our general information for families is here.
Will our sponsor write back to us ?
What can we write to our sponsor?
Here are some tips for what you can and cannot tell your sponsor. You can tell your sponsor your:
- first name – (if you have an unusual first name which might make you easy to identify, you can choose another name. The purpose of this is to protect your privacy)
- age
- state or territory where you live
You can tell them about things like your:
- hobbies
- friends (without identifying them)
- favourite games and interests
- pets.
You must not share your:
- last name
- school details
- home suburb
- social media address
- photos
- date of birth
- or any other information that could identify you, members of your family or your friends.
If you would like to find out more, our child protection policy is available online here, our Statement of Commitment is here and our general information for families is here.
Does my child need to complete the Student Profile?
Yes. As part of the Learning for Life Program students must complete a Student Profile once a year. We need the Student Profile to process your Scholarship payment and keep your sponsor updated as your child progresses.
What happens if my child’s sponsor stops sponsoring?
Sometimes the sponsor’s circumstances can change and they may not be able to continue sponsoring. This will not impact your child’s scholarship. Once you are part of the Learning for Life program, The Smith Family will continue our support. As long as you meet your part of the Family Partnership Agreement that you agreed to when you joined The Smith Family. During your child’s time on the Learning for Life program, they may have more than one sponsor.
Why do some children have two sponsors?
We need two sponsors to help cover the full cost of the Learning for Life program for each child. The program is made up of:
1. the payment you receive from The Smith Family,
2. the support from your Family Partnership Coordinator and where possible,
3. access to our learning programs.
I have several children on the Learning for Life program but have only received an introduction email for one child. What does this mean?
We introduce the sponsor to their student via an email once they have been connected for a specific period of time. This means, you may receive the introduction email at different times. Please be assured this does not impact your Scholarship payment in any way.
I received an email introducing my child’s sponsor, but it says 'Sponsor name not available', what does this mean?
If the email says 'Sponsor name not available', you can still communicate with the Sponsor if you like. You would just address the message/email/letter/ card/ drawing 'To my sponsor' and include the Sponsor ID provided.
Any questions
We’re here to help! Just call us on 1800 280 223. If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message and we will get back to you. You can also email us at scholarshipsupport@thesmithfamily.com.au