Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Lilly’s set on a caring career
27 June 2024
Lilly is a vibrant 12-year-old ready to tackle high school with her eagerness for education. She values learning so much that she’s got big plans to mentor the next generation as a childcare educator.
Lilly is one focused go-getter. She even volunteers at a local childcare centre where she reads to little ones. But health issues cause Lilly to miss more days at school than her peers and living with financial hardship means she is facing extra barriers to reaching her potential. It’s tough for Lilly to engage in her own education as much as she’d like.
Lilly is one focused go-getter. She even volunteers at a local childcare centre where she reads to little ones. But health issues cause Lilly to miss more days at school than her peers and living with financial hardship means she is facing extra barriers to reaching her potential. It’s tough for Lilly to engage in her own education as much as she’d like.
Her mum, Bernadette, encourages Lilly’s zest for school. But she also wants to keep her daughter healthy. Sometimes staying home is the only way to be safe. “If there is a massive bug going around the school, I would have to keep her home because of her low immune system,” Bernadette says. “With The Smith Family and the programs they have got in place, it makes things a lot easier to be able to learn from home. She’s really come out of her shell.”
This has only been made possible through sponsorship. Like you, Lilly’s sponsors provide essential and generous support.
This has only been made possible through sponsorship. Like you, Lilly’s sponsors provide essential and generous support.
As part of her sponsorship, Lilly is paired with a Learning for Life Coordinator who works with the family to provide support and to help make sure Lilly’s got everything she needs to fully participate in her education.
“If you say, ‘This is the challenging hurdle’, her Coordinator will say, ‘Right, so how can we overcome this hurdle?’ It’s a relief when you can reach out and resolve that problem together,” says Bernadette.
“If you say, ‘This is the challenging hurdle’, her Coordinator will say, ‘Right, so how can we overcome this hurdle?’ It’s a relief when you can reach out and resolve that problem together,” says Bernadette.
Now that Lilly has moved into high school, technology is needed more than ever to keep up with classwork. Poverty shouldn’t make this transition harder for a student. It’s essential Lilly has access to the digital tools she needs to access crucial learning opportunities.
Lilly’s Coordinator identified her digital need and connected her to our Digital Learning Essentials program. Lilly can now keep up with her peers even when she has to stay home because she was provided with a refurbished laptop and free internet data. Our Digital Learning Essentials program makes sure children like Lilly aren’t locked out of learning opportunities because of disadvantage. Now Lilly can build the skills she needs to achieve all she’s capable of in an increasingly digital world.
When Lilly gets to Year 9, she looks forward to stepping up from volunteer to trainee at the childcare centre. “She’s very determined,” Bernadette says. “She’s got it all planned.”
Sponsorship is giving Lilly the opportunity to achieve her career goals. Her commitment to reach them is stronger than ever. “Honestly, I don’t think we would have got through the last three years as confident as we are now if it hadn’t been for The Smith Family,” Bernadette says.
Thank you for being a sponsor for children like Lilly. Your support helps to make sure nothing stands in her way of achieving her dream despite her circumstances. That dream job is now firmly in her sights and she knows she has full support to go for it.
Lilly’s Coordinator identified her digital need and connected her to our Digital Learning Essentials program. Lilly can now keep up with her peers even when she has to stay home because she was provided with a refurbished laptop and free internet data. Our Digital Learning Essentials program makes sure children like Lilly aren’t locked out of learning opportunities because of disadvantage. Now Lilly can build the skills she needs to achieve all she’s capable of in an increasingly digital world.
When Lilly gets to Year 9, she looks forward to stepping up from volunteer to trainee at the childcare centre. “She’s very determined,” Bernadette says. “She’s got it all planned.”
Sponsorship is giving Lilly the opportunity to achieve her career goals. Her commitment to reach them is stronger than ever. “Honestly, I don’t think we would have got through the last three years as confident as we are now if it hadn’t been for The Smith Family,” Bernadette says.
Thank you for being a sponsor for children like Lilly. Your support helps to make sure nothing stands in her way of achieving her dream despite her circumstances. That dream job is now firmly in her sights and she knows she has full support to go for it.
