UNICEF donates $100,000 to Victorian students affected by the bushfires

UNICEF have donated $100k to assist State Schools’ Relief with bushfire relief, with the funds going toward purchasing learning devices such as iPads and laptops, to be distributed to Victorian students who have lost their homes.

State Schools’ Relief, is a Victorian based not for profit organisation that supports the needs of financially disadvantaged school students by providing them with new school uniforms, footwear and educational resources during times of vulnerability, assisting over 56,000 financially disadvantaged Victorian school children in 2018/19 alone with the number and value of items distributed exceeding 210,000 and $6.3M respectively.

Sue Karzis, CEO of State Schools Relief, believes that the support provided by UNICEF is both crucial and timely and will help facilitate the continued education for children who have recently lost everything in the bushfires.

“We are delighted to be able to announce a partnership with UNICEF which will greatly assist in providing essential learning devices to those students who have lost their homes. We will be working closely with schools in the coming weeks to determine the students affected and offer support in a timely manner,” she says.

UNICEF Australia CEO Tony Stuart, said he is pleased that the partnership will positively impact bushfire affected students and help alleviate some of the challenges they may now be facing.

“We know there will be many challenges for children and young people who are resuming their education after being affected by these disastrous bushfires,” said UNICEF Australia CEO, Tony Stuart. “We are very pleased to be working with a partner like the State Schools Relief in Victoria, knowing that together, we can achieve a meaningful and direct positive impact for these students.”

Teachers of bushfire victims are encouraged to apply for the learning devices via the State Schools Relief website https://ssr.net.au/schools/ and applications are open from the 3rd February 2020.