You can sponsor an Australian child today

How does child sponsorship work?

When you sponsor a child, your donations of $55 a month are combined with that of another sponsor to provide your sponsored child with three key pillars of support:

School uniforms and excursions

Financial support to pay for books, shoes and a complete school uniform, as well extra-curricular activities like school excursions.

community connection - people holding hands

Matched with personalised, tailored support

Our Learning for Life Coordinators provide on the ground support with student's schooling and links them to local learning opportunities.

Access to learning support - books and an apple

Access to learning support and tutoring

Ongoing access to our out-of-school learning and mentoring programs to help students build the skills to thrive at school and beyond.

Who CAN your sponsorship help?

Sponsor Kindergarten to Year 6

Children who start school behind in mathematics and literacy generally stay behind. Our evidence-based programs cater for students from five years and up.

3,176 awaiting sponsorship

students working on a group task on a computer

Sponsor Year 7 to Year 9

With a greater emphasis on independent study, students aged 12 and up face more complex subjects to tackle, adjusting to high school can be especially challenging.

2,152 awaiting sponsorship

MEET ONE OF OUR GRADUATES

Lily didn’t think she’d make it through high school.

“I was raised by my single mum in a home filled with love, but also hardship,” she says. “We had a lot to cope with. Money was tight. I wasn't enjoying school and I probably would have dropped out.”

But when she was 12 The Smith Family came into Lily’s life.

Child sitting on a chair with a teddy bear. — As a child Lily was raised in a home filled with love, but also hardship.

young woman sitting at a table with a laptop looking at the camera and smiling — Today Lily is working in public relations.

Sponsorship changed everything. "I realised there were these kind strangers helping me”.

“My sponsors kept me motivated, even when things were really tough.” Through sponsorship, Lily received school essentials and dedicated learning support. 

Lily’s hard work paid off. After school, and with support from her sponsors, she studied journalism at university. Today, she works in Public Relations. “I’m living my dream, and it’s made my mum so proud!”

As a child sponsor you can...

Create a Sponsor Profile

Kick-start communication with your sponsored student by sending them your Sponsor Profile. Here, you can introduce yourself and start building a deeper connection.

two speech bubbles - a conversation between two people. Making people smile

Communicate with your student

Through our secure My Smith Family portal, you can communicate with your student, including messages of support. Correspondence with your student is entirely optional.

gifts to a sponsored student. two hands holding up a heart

Send gifts to your sponsored student

We will send you birthday reminders so you can send on birthday wishes and/or gifts such as books and vouchers to your sponsored student.

student with smile on her face stands up in class to present homework

Sponsor a child today for less than the price of a coffee a day.

You can cancel at any time. We make sure that your student continues to receive support until we can match them with a new sponsor.

Amount

55 a month

TAX DEDUCTIBLE

Sponsorship Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child and sponsor write to each other?

Yes. We encourage sponsors and children to exchange cards and letters throughout the year - although it is entirely optional. Many sponsors and their students find this an extremely rewarding part of the program. We’ll even send you a reminder before your students birthday so you can send a card if you wish. All correspondence between students and sponsors is exchanged through The Smith Family to ensure that it complies with our guidelines and that privacy is maintained at all times.

The My Smith Family Portal also enables you to write electronically, quickly and easily and can be accessed here.

To find out more about writing to your student, please visit this page.

Who is eligible to receive a Learning for Life sponsorship?

To be eligible for Learning for Life sponsorship families must meet the following criteria:

live in a community where The Smith Family has a presence;
possess a Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card;
demonstrate a commitment to education (i.e. children must attend school regularly);
be referred to us by a community organisation such as a school.

To remain on the Learning for Life sponsorship program families must:

show a commitment to their child’s education by ensuring children attend school;
complete a student profile each year (a written update which is sent to their sponsor);
provide a copy of their end of year school reports (for Smith Family administration and not shared with the sponsor);
keep receipts of educational expenses and be able to show these as requested.

How do I know if my sponsorship is making a difference?

Research confirms that the best way to help children break the cycle of disadvantage is by helping them get the most out of their education.

Everything that we do is backed by research, and we know that sponsorship is making a difference because we measure the success of all of our programs.

Sponsorship supports children in need so they can:

attend school regularly,
complete Year 12, and
move onto further education and employment post school.

We measure a child’s school attendance, advancement and engagement after school. We can proudly report that we are continuing to improve in these areas year on year – as featured in our Annual Report.

You can also follow your child’s progression through school by corresponding with them.

How do I cancel the Sponsorship of my Learning for Life child?

We understand that circumstances can change and you may wish to cancel your direct debit, stop or defer an individual debit, request a change to the debit amount, or make other changes. Our team are always happy to assist so please either contact us on 1800 633 622 or write to us at GPO Box 5348, Sydney NSW 2001, or email us at sponsorship@thesmithfamily.com.au. Please provide us with at least 10 business days notification to process your request in time.

If you ever face the difficult decision to cancel your sponsorship, The Smith Family will make sure that your student continues to receive support through funding from other sources until we can match them with a new sponsor.

Why does The Smith Family no longer provide welfare support?

Since the end of the 1990s The Smith Family has focused its activities on providing disadvantaged children with a hand up through education support rather than a hand out through emergency relief or traditional welfare activities, including blankets, food parcels and furniture.

Research shows supporting a child’s education and learning is one of the most effective means of breaking the cycle of disadvantage and this is what The Smith Family is all about today.

How does The Smith Family know that the financial support is used appropriately by the family?

The Smith Family forms a partnership agreement with every family that comes onto the Learning for Life program. This is a rigorous process to ensure that your money is used as set out in the agreement. Our students are referred by our partner schools, and their families must possess a Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card to be eligible for support. To remain on the sponsorship program supported families must keep receipts of educational expenses and be able to show these as requested, as well as return partnership paperwork (e.g. student profiles and student attendance reports).