Literacy is an essential skill for all kids to learn – but not every child has the same access to the opportunities to develop and improve their reading, writing and numeracy. The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) is working hard to change this, and to ensure kids across Australia have equal access to literacy support.
What Does ALNF Do?
Since the late 1990s, when the organisation was founded by Kim Kelly and Mary-Ruth Mendel, ALNF has helped people, particularly children, to become active and engaged members of their communities through improving their literacy skills. It particularly supports literacy for students of refugee background and Indigenous communities, and is also working to revive, maintain and revitalise Indigenous languages with its award-winning Living First Language platform.
For the past 12 years, Officeworks has been a proud partner of ALNF and its mission to help students write their own bright futures. In 2023 the appeal raised $652,000, while funds raised through the annual campaign for more than a decade have supported 35,000 children at 250 sites across the country with more than 357,000 books and 53,000 Literacy Packs provided to kids and communities.
These Literacy Packs are available for preschool, primary school and high school students and include age-appropriate literacy resources, such as plasticine for kinaesthetic and fine motor skill development for preschoolers or dictionaries for high school students, all packaged in a fun and reusable tote bag. This life-changing initiative has been shown to create higher levels of student, parental and community engagement in literacy learning. The packs also contain books from ALNF’s Share-A-Book program, which provides new and quality pre-loved books to Indigenous, refugee and marginalised communities in need of resources. The books are distributed to targeted regions across Australia, such as Palm Island in QLD, Alice Springs in NT, the APY Lands in SA, the Kimberley region in WA, and the Mid North Coast in NSW, to name a few.
SEE ALSO: Why Literacy Skills Are Important: Mary-Ruth Mendel
Why Michala Banas is an ALNF Ambassador
Supporting the campaign this year is award-winning actor Michala Banas, who believes literacy is all about connection. “It’s about connection to self, to others, and to our wider community. And connection is vital to our wellbeing as humans,” she says.
Working with disadvantaged children and teens as an ALNF ambassador is a role she finds extremely rewarding. “It was just something I really wanted to be a part of,” Michala says. “ALNF feels like a family. That sounds corny, but seriously, the care and sincerity amongst everyone I encountered at the foundation was so heartening and inspiring.”
We caught up with Michala to talk about how literacy has shaped her life and career.
What were your own school days like? What subjects did you enjoy?
I moved schools a bit, so I was really just trying to fit in. I wasn’t too bad at school academically speaking, but I struggled a bit socially from time to time. I always loved creative subjects like Art, Music and Drama.
How were your own literacy skills supported in your younger years, both at school and within your own family?
My father was, and still is, a writer for stage and screen, so as I child literacy was big in our household. And creativity was something I spent my younger years surrounded by. I was really lucky in that regard. Dad always read us books at bedtime and made every story special by doing amazing voices for each character. Reading was always an adventure for us as kids.
Being involved in television and theatre as an adult, do you think your literacy support helped inform your career?
Without a doubt. Literacy through storytelling is absolutely the foundation of a career as a performer.
What were your favourite books as a child?
I loved books like ‘The Paper Bag Princess’ by Robert Munsch, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak, and ‘The Hobbit’ by JRR Tolkien – Dad used to read us that one at bed time.
What's your relationship with reading like now as an adult and how important is it in your everyday life?
I’ve only just got back into reading novels in the last 10 years. I think because I spent (and still spend) so much of my time reading scripts, I never made the time for reading for joy and escapism. It’s something I love to do.
Why do you feel ALNF’s work is so important?
ALNF’s work is important because it is fostering opportunities for people to gain literacy and numeracy skills where sometimes they might be lacking. The work they do empowers kids in so many ways, and helps to bring communities together.
Why Luke Carroll is an ALNF Ambassador
Alongside Michala, actor Luke Carroll is working as an ALNF ambassador for the third time, and says he wouldn’t have the career he has without the literacy support he received from his family and teachers.
We chatted with Luke about how literacy is a generational love for him and how he hopes to keep paying it forward in educating younger generations.
What were your own school days like? What subjects did you enjoy?
I loved school. My mum worked in education for 30 years, and so she really pushed how important education was. I loved playing sport. It got me out of the textbooks and got me active. I also did lots of geography. I remember vividly, sitting down every night looking at a world map, looking at the capital cities of each country. I just loved exploring outside our boundaries and what the big world was. I was in Advanced English in high school, so that was a strong point.
Do you have a memory of a teacher that made a difference for you growing up?
It was my Year 3 teacher who got me into acting. Our normal teacher was on maternity leave for the year, so we had a relief teacher come in, and in the first week, I sort of tested the waters, being a bit of a class clown. She held me back after class on a Friday afternoon, caught up with my mum and I thought, “Oh no, I'm in trouble here”. But, lo and behold, she said to my mum, “Luke’s in trouble, but I think he’s got this great energy in class that we could utilise in a more positive way outside the classroom. Do you mind if we set up a meeting with an acting agent in North Bondi in Sydney?” And look, I had no aspirations whatsoever to get into acting, but we just went along with it. We thought it was an opportunity here, so why not? And yeah, the rest is history – 36 years later, I’ve made a career out of it.
How were your own literacy skills supported in your younger years, both at school and within your own family?
[My Mum] was a massive player. She was an Aboriginal education aide in a high school in Sydney. Then she went up to a higher position where she looked after all the Aboriginal education aides in the Sydney region and was well respected.
Being involved in television and theatre as an adult, do you think literacy support helped inform your career?
For me, the basic skills of reading and writing, I needed to be an actor. We were reading anyway, to read scripts, to learn my scripts and learn my lines. So extremely important. I used to read all the time as a kid, always borrowing books from the school library. It was a great memory I have growing up.
What were your favourite books as a child?
I love Roald Dahl books. ‘The BFG’ was one of my favourites.
What’s your relationship with reading like now as an adult and how important is it in your everyday life?
Well, it’s changed. I’ve voiced some audiobooks recently. So in terms of how we read now, it’s changed. I’m still old school though; I love to read a book. I don’t read as much as I should, but I do read for my kids and read with my kids. I’ve got two boys. My eldest has finished high school now, but my little fella’s in Year 5. He’s got homework – he has to read 20 minutes a day. So I sit and read and listen to him. I was reading to him at night-time before bed, but now he’s doing it to me. I’m still reading scripts that come in [for my role on] ‘Play School’, and we read books as part of the show. And we do story times, which are special edition episodes of ‘Play School’ where we get guests to come in and read books. I've had my little fella come in and read a book with me.
How does it feel knowing that you're teaching the next generations through ‘Play School’?
It's a great feeling. I mean, it’s one of the most iconic shows on Australian television [that’s been going for] 58 years this year. I’ve been on there for 14 and still want to be on there for the next 14 and beyond. Every Australian’s watched at least a few episodes of ‘Play School’. Each time I’m on there, it's one of those gigs where you pinch yourself. I feel honoured to be an ambassador for the program and continue to educate our young Australians out there.
Why do you feel ALNF’s work is so important?
I want our kids to have a bright future. I love the programs that ALNF run. It was a no-brainer for me [to join as an ambassador]. I’m very happy to be a part of it. Anything for the education of our young people, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids. As an Aboriginal man myself, I want us to be strong in culture, but also to be strong in the western world. Having those basic skills is a major factor in us growing stronger as a people and as a society.
You can support students to write their own bright futures this September by donating to ALNF at Officeworks in-store and online. Funds raised will go towards the organisation’s life-changing literacy programs to make sure all kids thrive at school and beyond.
What to Try
- Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation Donation $2
- Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation Donation $5
- Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation Donation $10
- Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation Donation $20
SEE ALSO: 7 Ways to Help Your Kids Improve Their Literacy Skills
This article was originally published in September 2023 and has since been updated.
