An Albion Park woman is now seeking to assist disadvantaged children – just as someone helped her.
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When her mother escaped a domestically violent relationship, Alisha McLuckie and her younger sister experienced a world of disadvantage.
They had to move a number of times and her mother didn’t work.
Read more: The hidden faces of the Illawarra's homeless
Living in community housing, Ms McLuckie remembers handouts of electricity vouchers or food hampers from charities.
However, it was at school that her sense of shame really shone through.
“It’s hard enough moving around all the time, but doing it when you are already a kid who stands out means you have a really hard time trying to fit in,” Ms McLuckie, now 33, of Albion Park said.
“I really do remember feeling isolated that the others had nice clothes and bags and were getting cars off their parents when they became teenagers.”
Standing in the school playground on her first day of high school with her cheap school bag sticks in Ms McLuckie’s mind.
Especially as she realised that everyone else had brand new sports brand bags.
So when at age 13 she became sponsored through The Smith Family’s ‘Learning For Life’ program and could buy a school bag, which would allow her to “fit in”, it was a moment of self-belief that she was as worthy as the other students.
Ms McLuckie said she “couldn’t believe it when I realised I was being sponsored by an anonymous donor”.
“We could finally afford the school bag which I felt was holding me back from being as good as the other kids at school.
“Not only that, but I could go on school excursions and have new uniforms. It was a changing moment in my life.”
Her background now helps inform her role as a family partnership coordinator for The Smith Family.
Ms McLuckie returned to education to get a Bachelor of Primary Education at the University of Wollongong.
In 2014, she started working for The Smith Family.
Working in Albion Park, the same suburb she grew up in, Ms McLuckie offers learning support and mentoring programs to help students catch up and keep up at school.
She also refers the families of the students she works with to other agencies with programs of support.
“Often they are reluctant to tell me just what is going on for them and I can really relate to their sense of shame – it takes me right back to that 13-year-old girl in the school playground,” she said.
“I tell them my story and how, through the help of The Smith Family, I am now a confident, happy woman who wants to help others too.”
This Christmas, The Smith Family is appealing for funds so it can continue to help children experiencing disadvantage.
The charity aims to raise $3.8 million through its Christmas Appeal to help more than 9000 disadvantaged children with essential learning support and mentoring programs.
To help, click here.
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
