The Smith Family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the American political family see Smith (family).
The Smith Family is an Australian charity that supports disadvantaged children and their families.
The charity was founded in the Sydney region during Christmas 1922 by five businessmen who wanted to help disadvantaged children. On a visit to an orphanage at Christmas they distributed gifts and sweets. When asked for their names by the matron, one of the men replied “Er .. Smith.”, to preserve their anonymity, and indicated the other businessmen were also called Smith. And so The Smith Family charity came about. [1]
Since 1922, the organisation has developed major programs to assist disadvantaged children, including focusing on their education and health requirements, as well as providing food and clothing. 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 to meet in friendship and to support the work of The Smith Family.
In 2006, the organisation had 500 paid staff, 7,000 volunteers, 25,000 members of VIEW clubs across Australia, and supported 23,500 students on the Learning for Life program. [2]
The charity raises money through donations, business sponsorships, sponsor a child program, commercial interests, government grants, and fundraising. In 2005, participants in the Melbourne Around the Bay in a Day event, organised by Bicycle Victoria raised over $290,000 for The Smith Family. [3]
