ABSTRACT
A good case study of strong leadership combined with a cause aligning with the public's concerns and underlying trends is The Smith Family. A Children's Charity since 1922, the founding of The Smith Family is a very Australian story. In December 1922, during a period of relative prosperity post World War 1 and before the Great Depression had taken hold, five businessmen on their way home from a successful business trip met in the Woolpack Hotel in Parramatta. The Smith Family decided to change its whole approach. It began the shift away from welfare payments and replaced them with education scholarships and local support through a new program called Learning for Life. The organisation is now very proud of this significant change, and the relevance of its current direction. The Learning for Life program has been developed over the last twenty years to encourage school attendance, reduce social isolation and improve student's educational outcomes.
