International Women’s Day 2024 was celebrated by 137 VIEW Club women and 17 South East clubs at the Dandenong Club on Friday 8 March – the first gathering of the clubs since the Covid pandemic.
Women attending were from throughout the South East and from as far as Bairnsdale. VIEW Clubs are valued members of The Smith Family, with approximately 14,000 members in 283 clubs across Australia.
After a Welcome to Country, Anton Leschen, general manager Victoria for The Smith Family, reviewed how VIEW Club women support The Smith Family Learning For Life (LFL) students throughout the country, sponsoring over 1700 students with donations of $133.5 million annually and growing.
In 2023, 62,822 LFL students received support for books, uniforms, excursions and other learning programs such as reading and study skills.
The Smith Family’s goal is to double that number of sponsored students in the next five years.
A Learning for Life student alumni spoke about his experience in the program, improving his reading skills during prep, advancing in maths and other areas in secondary school, and now pursuing a degree in aeronautical science, maths and commerce at Monash University.
Talented members of the Bairnsdale VIEW Club entertained with several songs celebrating women, ending with a community sing of “I Am Woman”.
The final speaker, Susan Bower, inspired attendees with her views on the importance of women in our country and sharing her life story.
Susan eventually reached her writing goals, despite road blocks during her early life when the only options available to women were essentially nursing and teaching – training as a nurse, becoming the youngest and first-ever married charge nurse at the Alfred Hospital, delivering babies and seeing out the dying, surviving a broken family, single motherhood, and eventually finding her way to television as creative producer, writing some of the best known Australian television drama series including A Country Practice, Neighbours, McCloud’s Daughters, All Saints, and A Place Called Home.
‘Retired’ from official writing and producing, Susan is now teaching Writing a TV Series at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, mentoring new story tellers, sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generations.
To learn more about VIEW Clubs, visit thesmithfamily.com.au/view
