3,595 children urgently need support before they head back to school.

Our Programs
- Literacy programs
  Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.
- Technology programs
  Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.
- Numeracy programs
  We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.
- Learning for Life
  Learning for Life is an innovative, evidence-based program that supports students throughout their education to achieve positive long-term outcomes for young people experiencing disadvantage.
- Mentoring programs
  Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs
  Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.
Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs
Get Involved
- Ways to fundraise
  Learn about fundraising and give back to the community with The Smith Family.
- Volunteer with us
  Share your skills to help Australian children in need transform their lives through education.
- Corporate partnerships
  Corporate partnerships give young Australians in need the chance to change their futures through educational support. Discover how you can join forces with The Smith Family to create a mutually-beneficial, impactful partnership.
- Careers
  We aim to provide a working environment where staff and volunteers have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
- Events
  Participate in events and activities that support young Australians experiencing disadvantage.
- VIEW Clubs of Australia
  Learn about VIEW, a leading women’s volunteer organisation and support network with over 13,000 members, across Australia.
Ways to Give
- Sponsor a child
  Through child sponsorship, you will be matched to an Australian child in need, helping to support the cost of their school essentials.
- A gift in your will
  Ensure that future generations of Australian children have the support they need to make the most of their education.
- Monthly donation
  Become a monthly donor and provide continual support throughout all stages of a child’s education.
- Philanthropic giving
  Through your philanthropy, you can ensure that young Australians impacted by poverty get the education that all children deserve.
- Single donation
  Your donation will help young Australians in need by providing access to our Learning for Life education support programs.
- Workplace giving
  Making small, regular donations to The Smith Family through Workplace Giving is an easy way to help change the lives of young Australians living in poverty.
Login
Child Sponsorship
Donate now

Work experience programs

Australia’s youth unemployment rate is around double the national average.¹

Young people living in poverty are more likely to experience repeated, long-term bouts of unemployment,² with research also showing that young people not engaged in education, training or paid employment by age 24 risk long-term unemployment.³

Two students doing work experience at a mechanic

Kevin

I’m excited about the Cadetship to Career program because it offers me something I've really been lacking. Coming from a low-income family, I don’t have networks, because my parents don’t have connections. It’s very hard for me to go into the professional workforce and get a professional job without these networks.

Kevin, Cadetship to Career participant

Using a hands-on approach means students stay engaged instead of zoning out in the classroom. Taking them to workplaces and exposing them to the world of work shows them that life after school is real, and this is what it could look like.

Eddie, Work Inspiration Program Coordinator

Our work experience programs: informing and inspiring young people

The Smith Family runs programs to help young people explore and engage with the world of work; Cadetship to Career and Work Inspiration. These programs expand students horizons about their post-school job and career options, and can link them in with valuable networks in their chosen field.

Work experience programs

Work Inspiration

More than just work experience, this business-led initiative provides young people with opportunities to experience the world of work first hand and in a meaningful way.

Our learning programs

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs

Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.
Arts programs

Providing students living with disadvantage access to arts programs to help support students'; engagement with school by increasing their creative skills, self-confidence, social networks and knowledge of post-school options.
Community programs

We partner with government, schools, families, and other service providers to improve educational outcomes for children.
Financial programs

We offer financial programs for parents facing disadvantage and an interactive high school program, building youth financial literacy, decision-making skills, and future awareness.
School transition programs

Providing help for students transition from primary to high school by enhancing their skills, knowledge, and attitude for the new learning environment.
Learning Clubs

After-school Learning Clubs give children help with literacy homework in a safe, supportive environment, encouraging children to better engage with their learning.
Learning for Life

Learning for Life is an innovative, evidence-based program that supports students throughout their education to achieve positive long-term outcomes for young people experiencing disadvantage.
Literacy programs

Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.
Mentoring programs

Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
Mentoring programs

Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
Numeracy programs

We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.
Technology programs

Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.

¹ Stanwick J, Lu, T, Karmel, T & Wilbrow, B (2013) How Young People are Faring 2013, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Adelaide, pp. 6.