 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(August 2010) |
The Smith Family is an Australian, independent non-profit children's charity whose goal is to create opportunities for disadvantaged Australian children and their families and encourage them to participate more fully in society, using education as a key tool.
Shortly before Christmas in 1922, five businessmen returning from a trip to the Blue Mountains visited an orphanage to share toys and sweets with the children. In order to remain anonymous, each man responded “Smith” when asked for their names, and The Smith Family came into existence.
During the Depression of the late 1920s and early 30s, The Smith Family assisted with the food and clothing needs of thousands of Australians.
In 1933 when rheumatic fever became a major health issue affecting children, The Smith Family set up a special hospital, Mt Arcadia, in North Parramatta, to care for them. It closed in 1958.
In 1960, The Smith Family, under the leadership of General Secretary George Forbes, founded VIEW Clubs Australia (Voice, Interest and Education of Women) to provide a support network for women.
The 1970s saw The Smith Family react to the needs of refugee families fleeing war in Vietnam and Timor and supporting the residents of Darwin as they recovered from the devastation inflicted by Cyclone Tracy.
In 1997, The Smith Family started the Learning for Life program, which aims to enable disadvantaged children and young people to get the opportunities they need to fully participate in their education and create better futures for themselves.
Learning for Life provides long term support for young Australians in need, all the way through their schooling years. This approach gives ongoing assistance to disadvantaged students, so they can develop and build vital life skills, stay engaged in their education and have the best opportunity to break the cycle of disadvantage.
Through Learning for Life, The Smith Family connects students to sponsors whose financial support helps families afford the cost of their children’s essential school items such as uniforms, text books and school excursions. Learning for Life workers in 94 communities link students to local learning opportunities and also encourage them to make the most of their education through participating in a range of learning support and mentoring programs.
The Smith Family’s work is evidence-led and strengthened by a network of strong partnerships with corporate and community organisations as well as individual sponsors, donors and volunteers, including the 20,000 members of VIEW Clubs of Australia.
Each year, over 7,000 volunteers contribute to Smith Family programs across the country.[ citation needed ]
Until January 2020, The Smith Family operated clothing donation bins, into which people deposit used clothing. However, at the end of 2019 the charity announced on its website that it would cease operations in clothing recycling from January 2020. This was to allow The Smith Family to "focus solely on providing out-of-school learning support for disadvantaged young Australians". [1]
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.
Special education is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs. This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. It can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed on a voluntary basis and may be compulsory. While individual benefits may be realized, they may be performed for a variety of reasons, including citizenship requirements, alternatives to criminal justice sanctions, school or class requirements, and requisites to obtain certain benefits.
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educational and developmental activities, such as traveling, working, volunteering, or taking courses. Gap years are not limited to a year-long break and can range from several months to a few years.
Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane sector of The British and Foreign Bible Society’s sub-committee, The Colporteur Society (1869), and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially established in 1996, bringing together a number of city missions across the country. The organisation specialises in the areas of homelessness and housing, families and children, early learning, youth, employment and skills, substance abuse, disability, mental health, and strengthening communities. Sharon Callister has been CEO since March 2022.
Food for Life Global is a non-profit vegan food relief organization founded in 1995 to serve as the headquarters for Food for Life projects. Food for Life Global has its roots in ISKCON dating back to 1974. It is a completely independent non-profit organization that supports the work of Food for Life projects both inside and outside of ISKCON. Its network of 291 affiliates span the globe, with projects occupying over 65 countries. Volunteers provide over 1 million free meals daily. Food For Life engages in various sorts of hunger relief, including outreach to the homeless, provision for disadvantaged children throughout India, and provision for victims of natural disasters around the world.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence is an Australian not-for-profit organisation working toward an Australia free of poverty. The Brotherhood has its headquarters in Melbourne but provides services and programs across Australia. It undertakes research, delivers services and advocates for anyone who faces, or is at risk of, disadvantage and poverty.
Inclusion in education refers to all students being able to access and gain equal opportunities to education and learning. It arose in the context of special education with an individualized education program or 504 plan, and is built on the notion that it is more effective for students with special needs to have the said mixed experience for them to be more successful in social interactions leading to further success in life. The philosophy behind the implementation of the inclusion model does not prioritize, but still provides for the utilization of special classrooms and special schools for the education of students with disabilities. Inclusive education models are brought into force by educational administrators with the intention of moving away from seclusion models of special education to the fullest extent practical, the idea being that it is to the social benefit of general education students and special education students alike, with the more able students serving as peer models and those less able serving as motivation for general education students to learn empathy.
TGR Foundation was established in 1996 by Tiger Woods and his father, Earl Woods, to create and support community-based programs that improve the health, education, and welfare of all children in America. The charity began as a simple junior golf clinic where Woods introduced the basics of the game to inner-city kids. But everything changed in 2001, right after the events of September 11. Woods began to envision his foundation as a hub for STEM education for kids from underprivileged communities.
Pratham is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India. It was co-founded by Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambay. It works towards the provision of quality education to the underprivileged children in India. Established in Mumbai in 1995 to provide pre-school education to children in slums, Pratham today has interventions spread across 23 states and union territories of India and has supporting chapters in the United States, UK, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.
Community education, also known as community-based education or community learning & development, is an organization's programs to promote learning and social development work with individuals and groups in their communities using a range of formal and informal methods. A common defining feature is that programmes and activities are developed in dialogue with communities and participants. The purpose of community learning and development is to develop the capacity of individuals and groups of all ages through their actions, the capacity of communities, to improve their quality of life. Central to this is their ability to participate in democratic processes.
Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers to be paired up with a buddy with an intellectual and developmental disability and provide them with a friend or a mentor. Best Buddies is the world's largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with IDD. It is an international movement that has spread to over 54 countries worldwide.
Martha's Table is a non-profit organization, an active charity and volunteer center in the Washington, D.C., area.
A sighted child who is reading at a basic level should be able to understand common words and answer simple questions about the information presented. They should also have enough fluency to get through the material in a timely manner. Over the course of a child's education, these foundations are built on to teach higher levels of math, science, and comprehension skills. Children who are blind not only have the education disadvantage of not being able to see: they also miss out on the very fundamental parts of early and advanced education if not provided with the necessary tools.
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups is a non-profit organization in Hong Kong, committed to develop youth services. Founded in 1960, the Federation has since been involved in providing activities and facilities for the physical, social, educational, cultural development of Hong Kong's youth.
Youth Off The Streets is an Australian non-denominational not-for-profit youth organisation. The organisation works with young people and their families and communities in an endeavour to create safety, offer support and provide opportunities to build a positive future.
JAAGO Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Bangladesh dedicated to providing quality education and social development opportunities to underprivileged children and communities. Established in April 2007 by Korvi Rakshand, the foundation has become a leading force in addressing issues related to education, poverty alleviation, and youth empowerment in the country.
A full-service community school (FSCS) in the United States focuses on partnerships between a school and its community. It integrates academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. Community schools are organized around the goals to help students learn and succeed and to strengthen families and communities. Full-service community schools extend the goals of traditional public schools further. They are centers of their communities that provide services to address the needs of student learners and build bridges between schools, families, and communities. They are schools that not only promote academic excellence, but they also provide health, mental health, and social services on the school campus. The "school emerges as a community hub, a one-stop center to meet diverse needs and to achieve the best possible outcomes for each child."
A Start in Life is an Australian charity that supports young people in necessitous circumstances access an education equal to their peers.
Support! International Foundation 國際青年學融有限公司 is a youth-led education non-government organisation in Hong Kong, registered under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Department Ordinance. It provides educational programmes to both secondary and primary students in need, as well as community development events to all youths in Hong Kong. Since 2014, the Foundation has expanded to 9 educational sites across Hong Kong and 3 event series held year-round, each initiated, led and maintained by secondary school students. The organisation has over a hundred student volunteers and an average annual reach of 1000+. The organisation's stated mission is "to create opportunities and foster connections for individuals from all backgrounds within communities, under the guiding principle and firm belief that young people are tomorrow’s leaders." The current President is 16-years-old Eric Wu, from Chinese International School and the current Chairman is Paul Tchen.