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Dylan's new pencils mean so much!

03 March 2023

Like so many young people in Australia, ten-year-old Dylan has a keen interest in protecting the environment. He belongs to the school’s Green Club and proudly wears the club’s cap in the playground alongside the other waste warriors.

By receiving help from his sponsor with the little extras – like being able to afford to buy the Green Club cap – Dylan feels more engaged with his school community. Dylan and his mum Amy have also noticed the difference sponsorship makes to his schooling.

“Sponsorship is really helpful because we can use the money to buy the things we need, like school supplies,” says Dylan. “My pencils have been getting smaller because I sharpen them so much, so that’s why I need more pencils.”

Sponsorship also provides Dylan with additional educational support and encouragement through his Learning for Life Coordinator Debra. Debra helped connect Dylan to our out-of-school educational programs student2student and Learning Club.

Learning Club is great because the volunteers help me out a lot. They help me correct my mistakes

Dylan, Learning for Life student

Since Dylan started participating in our student2student reading program, Debra has noticed a big change. “Dylan’s reading has improved significantly. His confidence has
increased and he enjoys reading out loud,” says Debra.

At Learning Club, volunteer tutors help Dylan keep up in class. His time here has also helped foster a great love of maths – so much so that he dreams of becoming a banker one day.

Dylan’s hope of building a career based on his favourite subject is one many young people share. But when living in disadvantage means he sometimes can’t afford school essentials like pencils, pursuing his goal becomes much harder.

So when Amy told us, “sponsorship has been a great support to Dylan and me”, it reminded us of how vital your support is. Thank you for helping children discover that anything is possible if they are given the chance to explore their potential.

Read more student and family stories in our Autumn 2023 edition of Real People, Real Stories.

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