SAP selects the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and The Smith Family as long-term not-for-profit partners in education
Sydney, Australia — SAP Australia today announced support of $400,000 annually to be allocated between two newly selected local not-for-profit partners, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) and The Smith Family, to help them empower Australia’s youth with innovative education programs.
As part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, the annual donations are targeted at providing students with enhanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, as well as equipping tomorrow’s workforce with much needed ICT skills.
As part of its ongoing support, SAP will contribute to the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, a private-sector-led not-for-profit organisation focused on empowering Indigenous children in financial need to build a future through quality education and careers.
SAP’s 2013 donations will go toward the AIEF Scholarship Program, which provides boarding school, tertiary and residential university college scholarships for Indigenous students in financial need, giving them the tools and confidence to take full advantage of educational and professional opportunities. Donations will support students in the form of scholarships, opening doors for them to access high-quality education in culturally inclusive environments.
SAP will also support the AIEF Pathways Program, which prepares students on AIEF scholarships for life post-school and supports their transition from school through tertiary studies or employment into productive and fulfilling careers.
“We are very pleased to have SAP among our committed partners,” says CEO of AIEF, Andrew Penfold. “We are thrilled to have both their financial investment and specialist skills in providing additional educational and professional opportunities to Australia’s Indigenous youth and supporting them to realise their potential.”
SAP’s donations will also support The Smith Family, a not-for-profit focusing on creating opportunities for young Australians in need by providing long-term support for their participation in education. This year’s donations will support 800 disadvantaged children with tailored education programs.
“SAP has a strong track record in Australia as a supporter of social outcomes,” says Dr Lisa O’Brien, CEO of The Smith Family. “We look forward to partnering with SAP to support Australia’s disadvantaged youth, both directly through volunteering and mentoring as well as indirectly through technology donation and expertise.”
SAP’s ongoing commitment to AIEF and The Smith Family will extend beyond donations to explore technology deployments for both organisations to support their programs and operations. It will also provide SAP employees the opportunity to participate in each organisation’s mentoring and volunteering programs.
In a rigorous selection process, SAP Australia’s employees nominated, qualified and ultimately selected AIEF and The Smith Family from more than 40 local candidates.
“The Smith Family and AIEF are two very special organisations that make a real difference to Australia’s youth,” said Greg Miller, Chief Operating Officer at SAP Australia & New Zealand. “At SAP, we believe that it is only through education that we can equip our youth and Australia for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow, so it’s fantastic that our employees have selected such critical community organisations as our long-term partners.”
He continued, “These partnerships are a natural extension of SAP’s longstanding commitment to supporting youth education, through the organisation of the annual student technology competition, Young ICT Explorers. Since 2010, this not-for-profit competition has encouraged school students to create their best ICT related projects, with a focus on real-world application in an effort to close the ICT skills gap in Australia. I hope our partnerships help send a strong message to the rest of the Australian technology community to get more involved in supporting youth education.”
AIEF and The Smith Family join Young ICT Explorers, as well as SAP Australia & New Zealand’s other established CSR partners.
About AIEF | www.aief.com.au
The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) is a private sector led, non-profit organisation focused on empowering Indigenous children in financial need to build a future through quality education and career pathways at Australia’s leading schools, universities and companies. A product of strong partnership between the Australian Government and the private sector, AIEF is building a $140 million fund to open the doors to leading schools and universities for 7,000 young Indigenous Australians.
AIEF believes that marginalised Indigenous children should have access to some of Australia’s best educational opportunities and pursue productive and fulfilling careers. That is why AIEF provides scholarships to boarding schools and residential university colleges through the AIEF Scholarship Program, while the AIEF Pathways Program, offers intensive career support to equip students with the tools to unlock their potential and pursue their dreams.
About The Smith Family
The Smith Family is a national charity helping young Australians in need to get the most out of their education, so they can create better futures for themselves.
The Smith Family believes every child deserves a chance and that circumstances should never limit potential. With research showing education can transform lives, the national charity’s Learning for Life program enables disadvantaged young people to get the opportunities they need to fully participate in their education and create better futures for themselves.
Learning for Life provides long-term support for young Australians in need, all the way through their schooling years, from primary school to senior school and on to tertiary studies if they choose. This approach gives ongoing assistance to disadvantaged students so they can develop vital life skills, stay engaged in their education and have the best opportunity to break the cycle of disadvantage.
Visit: www.thesmithfamily.com.au
About Young ICT Explorers
Young ICT Explorers is a non-profit competition, which has been created by SAP to encourage school students to create their best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related projects. The competition’s alignment with the school curriculum enables students to apply what they learn in their ICT classroom to develop a technology related project. At the judging event, students have the opportunity to present their project to a judging panel of academia, industry partners and ICT professionals. Each project is assessed on the criteria of creativity, uniqueness, quality, level of difficulty and project documentation.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
About SAP in the community
Globally, SAP contributed €18.4 million in cash donations to non-governmental and non-profit organisations in 2012. In addition, the company donated software to almost 1,200 eligible non-profit organisations, activated more than 130,000 employee volunteer hours, and thereby positively impacted an estimated one million lives to enhance education for underserved youth and propel emerging entrepreneurs to foster economic growth. For more information on SAP’s Corporate Social Responsibility programs, please visit SAP’s social investment page and the SAP Integrated Report 2012 on SAP.com.
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For more information, press only:
Danielle Zhu, +61 422 644 248, SAP@howorth.com.au
Perry Manross, +61 409 928 209, perry.manross@sap.com
