Brother Paul T. Smith Recognized by Worldwide Who's Who for Excellence in Nonprofit Organization Management

    MALVERN, VIC, AUSTRALIA, August 28, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Brother Paul T. Smith, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lasallian Foundation Australia, has been recognized by Worldwide Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in nonprofit organization management.

Brother Paul has been the CEO of the Lasallian Foundation since its inception in 2004. He began his work with the De La Salle Brothers, a religious congregation of men within the Catholic Church, in 1969, when he was based at De La Salle College in Kingsgrove. In 1972, he moved to St. Bedes Mentone and served in various roles, including Boarding Master, Principal of Senior School, Deputy Headmaster and Headmaster. Between 1982 and 1993 Brother Paul worked as the director of BoysTown Beaudesert, a residential facility referred through the Queensland courts which housed 100 boys between the ages of 12 and 16.

The highlight of Brother Paul's career was the establishment of Kids Helpline, Australia's largest youth service, which he started in 1991. Kids Helpline operates as a 24-hour, free and confidential telephone counselling service available to children between five and 18 years of age. He also established Parentline, a Queensland phone counselling service for parents experiencing problems.

That same year, Brother Paul co-founded Boystown Link Up. Advocating for the rights of children, especially young offenders, he developed a multi-faceted response to the problems facing youth aged 17-25. Two transitional centres for men and women awaiting release from jail were established. BoysTown now offers one-on-one counselling to thousands of young people and their families via Kids Helpline and Parentline. These troubled youth can simultaneously obtain work experience, learn life skills and receive support to help them face life's difficulties. From 1993 to 2001, Brother Paul was the CEO and Chairman for Boystown Family Care. During this time he was also the promoter for BoysTown Lotteries, a highly successful fundraising initiative dedicated to providing assistance to tens of thousands of youth in need.

The Lasallian Foundation was established by the De La Salle Brothers of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea with the goal of funding developmental and emergency relief projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Acting as a small, non-denominational organization whose efforts have recently begun to include helping those in South Sudan, past projects have been implemented in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. The foundation strives to cater to the basic needs of poor and disadvantaged children as well as give children who are denied the right to an education a chance to learn and the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.

With more than four decades of experience working in the nonprofit sector, Brother Paul Smith has become an expert in education, youth development, teacher training, water sanitation and hygiene techniques and conducting strategic planning workshops. Responsible for overseeing the conduct of the Lasallian Foundation in its support of countries in Southeast Asia and Papa New Guinea, his focus is often on the projects conducted under auspices of the De La Salle Brothers. He is involved in program designing and strategic planning for future projects, and he also monitors and evaluates current projects.


Whilst traveling to various countries to offer community education and advocate for human rights issues, Brother Paul gathers additional human resources by networking with potential sources of assistance and allocating funds to keep these programs running.

Brother Paul holds a bachelor's degree in education from Macquarie University, and in addition to his membership with the De La Salle Brothers, he is a member of the Order of Australia, the Australian Council for International Development and is a Paul Harris fellow. He has been awarded the Federal Human Rights Medal for founding Kids Helpline, the PACT Award for his commitment to fighting child abuse and the Australian Humanitarian Award for his service to the Health of Young People. Brother Paul was also pronounced Father of the Year for Queensland and was honored with the title of Queenslander of the Year three times.

Being a De La Salle brother allows Brother Paul to have the necessary free time to do this type of rewarding work, and he is grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many deserving children.

For more information about the Lasallian Foundation Australia, visit http://www.lasallianfoundation.org.

About Worldwide Who's Who
With over 500,000 members representing every major industry, Worldwide Who's Who is a powerful networking resource that enables professionals to outshine their competition, in part through effective branding and marketing. Worldwide Who's Who employs similar public relations techniques to those utilized by Fortune 500 companies, making them cost-effective for members who seek to take advantage of its career enhancement and business advancement services.

Worldwide Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third-party endorsement of their accomplishments, and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, it offers an online networking platform where members can establish new professional relationships.

For more information, please visit http://www.worldwidewhoswho.com.

Contact:
Ellen Campbell
Director, Media Relations
[email protected]

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