Brad Roylance tells us how the @Smith Family supports education in Geelong.
What do the Smith Family Do?
In Geelong our role is to support Northern Bay P-12 College and the 3214 community by offering 600 educational scholarships and programs, to families from low income backgrounds that are referred to us by the school.
The scholarship funds are mainly use for extra-curricular activities that students are interested in, and those that parents might not normally be able to afford. Typically, a scholarship might be used to support learning through things like music lessons or instrument hire, school sport, school camps, study camps or sessions and other school activities such as drama events.
School-based programs are designed to support student literacy and numeracy development, as well as career pathways through mentoring.
Two of the programs we are offering in the Pre-school space this year are being funded by Give Where You Live in Geelong, ‘Let’s Read’ and ‘Let’s Count’. These programs are designed to support local professionals to better encourage the reading and numeracy development of pre-school children. This is achieved by further education for their parents, and better access to resources such as age appropriate and culturally appropriate book packs for children.
What are their roles of your volunteers?
We have volunteers in a variety of roles including supporting programs as mentors, students that support younger children reading, Afterschool Learning Club tutors and admin roles. As with most roles with students, all volunteers must have a police and Working with Children Check and are fully trained. Volunteers come from all walks of life, but many university students use the opportunity to develop essential job skills for their chosen career.
How can the people of Geelong help?
We are always looking for volunteers with some skills and passion for supporting children’s education. That might be in a face-to-face or behind the scenes role. We try and match volunteers to their interest and skills. There are many ways to support The Smith Family through a variety of appeals, such as the Christmas appeal and other fundraising events. https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/get-involved/events-and-fundraising
https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/sponsor-a-child/australia Another way you can help is by being a sponsor of a child for a scholarship. See the Smith Family page for more information.
Youtube video: The Smith Family Stories – The Best That I Can Be
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