2025 Telethon Beneficiary
In 2025 and with the support of Telethon, the EdConnect Great at Eight program will focus on providing 150 trained and skilled volunteers to primary schools to work with children who are at risk of falling behind in literacy skill development before they reach a pivotal point in their reading – the end of Year 3.
EdConnect Australia supports Students at Educational Risk across Western Australia through the well-established school volunteer program.

It has been found that fewer than 1-in-5 students who perform below the national minimum standards in literacy and numeracy in the Year 3 NAPLAN tests catch up and stay caught up.¹
Providing additional support for children in the early years sets them up for greater success. Reading is a basic building block for all learning, stimulating imagination and creativity and supporting children’s holistic development².
¹ Australian Education Research Organisation (August 2023). ²Literacy as a Distinct Developmental Domain in Children P Klass J Hutton T De Witt (2020).
Telethon
Telethon is dedicated to transforming and positively impacting the lives of sick, vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Western Australia. Through the ongoing generosity of West Australians, Telethon supports dozens of beneficiaries, delivering life-changing programs, purchasing equipment and funding medical research into childhood diseases.