Gunnedah Evening VIEW Club members joined club members from other towns for a day of connection and inspiration at the area gala day in Tamworth last weekend.

Each club presented an overview of the year’s activities, including fund-raising events for their Learning for Life students.

VIEW Clubs operate under the banner of The Smith Family children’s charity and each club sponsors one or more students living in disadvantage to complete their education.

A highlight of the day was hearing from former Learning for Life scholarship recipient, Emma Peters, who is now working within the charity to help others like herself.

“It is a real privilege to be standing in front of you today as a representative of The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, knowing the wonderful and everlasting impact it has on the lives of many students and their families,” Emma said.

“I am proud to say that I was a Learning for Life scholarship recipient, and I am now a program coordinator for The Smith Family in Tamworth.

“I grew up in a home that was filled with much love and happiness. I was raised by a very young single mother and have four younger sisters. There was nothing my mum would not do to give us a wholesome and positive childhood and thanks to my mum they are my best memories and a great source of comfort to me.

“There is no doubt we were rich in love, richer than most, but the reality of singlehandedly raising a young, large family, with not a lot of support, meant that financially things were very tough,” Emma said.

“My mum was, and still is, a brilliant budgeter and always prioritised us girls. However, there’s only so much you can stretch a dollar between five children with schooling and educational needs.”

Emma was in Year 5 when her family was introduced to the Learning for Life Program and it brought instant financial relief.

“It was always an exciting time in the family when the student profiles arrived at our house in the mail, Mum had always encouraged us to dream big about our futures – that nothing would hold us back, so when the questions on the student profiles asked us what we wanted to be when we were older, our answers were always ready,” Emma said

“When our scholarships arrived mum would sit us down and together we would budget for things we needed and how best to spend our scholarship,” Emma said.

“We would have a special day, where we all went to town on the local bus. It was a day of trying on school clothes, school shoes, choosing lunch boxes and drink bottles. That day was nothing but joy for us. It was a day where we were not held back because of financial pressures, and we just knew that when the first day back at school started, we would fit in just like everyone else. We were not any different to any other child and that we got an equal opportunity to get an education.”

Emma said they would come home tired at the end of the day but happy and extremely grateful that there was ‘someone in this big wide world who wanted us to be successful, that someone other than their mum cared and wanted the best for them’.

“A really special part of being on the scholarship was receiving handwritten letters and post cards from my sponsor,” Emma said.

“She would tell me all the time how proud she was of me and how lucky she was to be a part of my life. She would pay attention to my student profile and tell me she knew I could become what I wanted to be. I would write back and tell her how grateful I was for the opportunities she was giving me, not just for the ability to buy physical school items but for her belief in me and for taking a chance on someone she had never met. I still have those letters stashed away in my keepsake box. They are a little reminder that I was worth a chance and that a little can go a long way. They remind me that with a little faith the impossible is possible.”

Guest speaker and former Learning for Life scholarship recipient Emma Peters, left, pictured with Cindy Pearce – Family Partnership co-ordinator with The Smith Family children’s charity in Tamworth.

Twice a year, Emma said her family considered themselves so lucky to have the opportunities to access a resource that opened the door for a good solid education because the inequalities that financial stress can place on a family were addressed.

“With a brilliant mum and the kindness of strangers we could attend school in clean school clothes, a full lunch box and all the things we needed to be engaged in learning,” Emma said.

“My family had the odds against us. Statistically we did not have much hope going for us. We were raised in a large family for modern society, raised by a young single mum, lived in social housing in a very low socio-economic community and all females.

“But my mum faced adversity with strength and humility and was not going to allow marginalisation, stereotypes and stigma associated with financial pressures to prevent us from making goals,” Emma said.

“Not only did we achieve them, but we hit them out of the park. With the scholarship as our amour and love leading the way, all five of us girls completed our Higher School Certificates with high grades such as bands 5 and 6s and had major works used as examples for fellow students.

“We all further completed a level of tertiary education being bachelors, diplomas, and certificates. Between us there are qualifications in social science, criminology, early childhood education, hairdressing, photography, and veterinary care. ”

Through the scholarships, Emma’s family was able to explore all educational opportunities without the strain of financial restraints thanks to ‘the generosity and thoughtfulness of sponsors’.

“On behalf of my family I can say from the bottom of our hearts we are forever grateful,” she said.

“I count myself to be very blessed for having the support of the scholarship for many years,” Emma said.

“I started on the scholarship as a young girl in primary school and finished on the scholarship 12 years later with a bachelor’s degree in social science and social welfare.”

Emma said she is happy to now play a part in addressing the needs of today’s young scholarship recipients through her role as the program coordinator with The Smith Family.

“I remind our amazing students to dream big and to believe in themselves because with a little kindness and a helping hand from a stranger, the impossible is possible,” she said.

There was hardly a dry eye in the room as Emma received rousing applause – VIEW Club scholarship recipients are unknown to their sponsors, and it was heartening for every member to hear such a gratifying result for their fund-raising efforts.

Emma was accompanied by family partnership coordinator for The Smith Family Learning for Life program, Cindy Pearce, who gave an overview of the past 12 months and thanked everyone for their support.

Gunnedah Day VIEW Club members also attended the function.