The Smith Family is a national education-oriented charity supporting disadvantaged Australian children to succeed at school, so they can create better futures for themselves and break the cycle of poverty.
SHARED GOALS
USANA and The Smith Family both help people to create better futures for themselves and live better, more independent and prosperous lives.
USANA gives Associates the opportunity to make their life the best it can be. And this includes having physical health as well as nancial health.
The Smith Family stops poor children becoming poor adults. The Smith Family helps young adults to navigate career pathways and achieve productive, fulfilling lives.
SHARED SUCCESS
This healthy relationship started in 2013 with an initial contribution of $20,000. We celebrate USANA’s ongoing generosity and are thrilled to have reached an amazing total of $130,000!
In the past year, USANA helped The Smith Family provide educational support which contributed to better outcomes for the 34,096 students receiving Learning for Life sponsorships.
We gained significant traction with USANA Australia’s staff and Associates with increased donations and contribution of time and volunteering efforts.
BIG PLANS FOR A BIG FUTURE TOGETHER
We already have great plans to further strengthen the relationship, particularly with Associates. Continuity enables us to build on this already solid foundation to further engage USANA Australia’s Associates. USANA’s investment is focused on long-term results and making a real impact as the rst step to achieving ‘true health’. The Smith Family is similarly focused on long-term outcomes by helping children attend and complete school, and go on to further study, training and employment.
INCREDIBLE IMPACT – YEAR IN REVIEW
BETTER OUTCOMES FOR A BETTER SOCIETY
In the past year, USANA Australia and USANA True Health Foundation have generously contributed:
• 27 volunteers and 216 hours
• $75,000
TOGETHER, MAKING THINGS BETTER
USANA’s contributions help provide better outcomes for children. In the past year, The Smith Family has been able to;
- Provide sponsorships to 34,096 Learning for Life students, 40% of whom have a health issue.
- Ensure 84.2% of school leavers were engaged in work or study after leaving the Learning for Life program
- Reach 124,902 Australians with education programs and support
- Help 95% of students participating in our student2student programimprove their reading
JESS’S STORY
When Jess was only 5 years old, she noticed that her mum wasn’t well. Her mum was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and wasn’t able to continue working. Jess had to help more around the house and work part-time to help pay the bills. Things got so bad that they were even forced to live in their car for awhile. Thanks to supporters like USANA, The Smith Family has helped Jess to overcome her challenges and nish high school. Jess is now studying medicine at university and she hopes to specialise in multiple sclerosis research.
POOR HEALTH, POOR EDUCATION
We know the importance of good health and how poor health can prevent people from living their best life. Poor health can also prevent children from getting the most out of their education.
Health issues can affect a child’s education in many ways. Around 40% of The Smith Family’s students and 50% of their parents in the Learning for Life program have a health issue. Unfortunately, regardless of who has the health issue; child or parent, the child can miss out.
Children with health issues may have problems with:
- Attending school consistently
- Fully participating in school activities
- Missing school for long periods putting them behind their peers
- Having dif culty completing homework and assignments
Parents with health issues can mean that some children:
- Have to get themselves to school
- Don’t get help with homework and assignments
- Have to provide a lot of support around the home
- Miss out on education basics such as books and a school bag due to their parent’s health costs
THE FACTS
- Australian research shows that “[a] child’s learning and development is integral to their overall health and wellbeing”**
- People who are disadvantaged are more likely to assess their health as poor (7.9% compared to 2.8%) or fair (14% comparedwith 8.4%)*
- For girls, low levels of education are associated with increased incidences of teenage birth rates among and “teenage motherhood is associated with signi cant health and social problems for the mother and infant”. Disadvantaged women have teenage birth rates “more than seven times higher” compared with high SES young women**
**Australian institute of Health and Welfare, 2011, ‘Headline Indicators for Children’s health, Development & Wellbeing *ABS (2015a) General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia 2014
HELP US HELP MORE CHILDREN
Garry’s story doesn’t have to be his daughters’ story
Garry is father to four girls aged between 12 and 18. Suffering from a chronic health condition, Garry is unable to work and his daughters need to take care of him. For many families in similar circumstances, providing care for an unwell parent means the children regularly miss school. Thanks to supporters like USANA and The Smith Family, Garry’s illness doesn’t have to affect his children’s education.
Remember, 100 percent of all donations made to the USANA True Health Foundation ALWAYS go toward changing lives across the world.