The Smith Family is launching its annual back to school appeal this week, which currently supports 600 underprivileged school students throughout Wagga.
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Regional programs manager for The Smith Family Olga Srbovski was visiting Wagga this week to launch the appeal; she said it is all about lifting the financial burden that often comes with the start of a new school year.
“This is a really stressful time for our families – by the time you buy books, get uniforms and shoes, and buy the technological devices students are asked to bring, the cost of going back to school can be huge,” Ms Srbovski said.
“It costs around $2000 to send a child to school at the beginning of each year, and if you've got two or three children in the same house, that's an awful lot of money.”
Christine Dennis is The Smith Family’s family partnerships coordinator in Wagga and works closely with the city’s students who are on Smith Family scholarships.
Ms Dennis said the financial assistance the appeal provides makes a huge difference to these families.
“We have tears and hugs, because it just makes such a difference to our families to be able to say ‘yes, my child can go on that excursion, they can fully engage in their learning, they can do swimming lessons’ – it takes the pressure off,” she said.
“I got an email last week from one of our parents, and she said for the first time ever she could go and buy her children all the things they need to get them back to school for 2018.
“Last year, one of my students became the first one in his family to go to university – he's a fantastic kid and he wants to become a teacher so he can help break the cycle.”
The Smith Family’s Girls at the Centre initiative is also set to return to Mount Austin High School for 2018.
Girls at the Centre manager Rebecca Vick said the program makes a huge difference for the Indigenous girls at the school.
“This is the sort of program that gives the girls an opportunity to grow and shine, and the changes we can help them make can then in turn help them change their families and their communities,” Ms Vick said.
“The key differences have been in their attendance, wellbeing, and connectedness to the school and to each other.”
