I’M writing to express my deep appreciation and thanks to everyone across South Austra- lia who supported The Smith Family’s 2023 Winter Appeal.
It goes without saying that the last few years have been incredibly hard on all Australians – we have gone from the Covid-19 pandemic to the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
Both have had a significant impact on our feeling of stability and our plans for the future. And while many of us are struggling, it’s the Australians who have been impacted most.
Living in economically unstable times is particularly difficult for young people, and this is especially true for children living in poverty.
School can be a great constant, and all children should feel confident enough to participate fully, so they can get the most out of their education.
We know that Covid-19 exacerbated existing learning gaps, with children experiencing disadvantage up to five years behind their more advantaged peers by the time they reach year 9.
The families we support want the very best for their children and while they are working hard to pay for necessities, things like tutoring or tailored support to help their children catch up are simply not within reach.
We are working to address this inequity, and thanks to the generous support of thousands of Australians, we are now able to give an extra 17,600 children and young people across the country access to our learning and mentoring programs.
These include programs like our evidence-based reading buddy program, student2student, with programs like this one reaching over 180,000 children and young people nationally.
As Federal Education Minister Jason Clare recently said – education is the most powerful cause for good in this country. On behalf of the students and families we support – thank you very much for your incredible generosity.
Doug Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, The Smith Family
