Newsletter for Members & Volunteers SA issue 3 2014

Newsletter for Members and Volunteers ISSUE 3 ▪ 2014 ▪ NSW

Celebration OF THE CENTURY Your role in our huge centenary events

OUR MANY FACES

Three very different women with a common Red Cross bond

EBOLA OUTBREAK Help us stop the epidemic

In FOCUS A message from the President and CEO This centenary year has shown yet again the vitality of Australian Red Cross, and the energy and commitment of our diverse supporters.

We were blown away in August to witness 3,600 volunteers at 140 Bunnings stores across Australia cooking an incredible 147,000 sausages to fundraise for Red Cross. We thank everyone who volunteered, bought a sausage, or made a donation to provide support for those doing it tough, as well as Bunnings, who generously donated all the food and drinks. Find out just how much money was raised on page 5.

We also commemorated our Foundation Day with events including the book launch of The Power of Humanity: 100 years of Australian Red Cross 1914–2014, Red Cross rose plantings, and parliamentary resolutions moved in state and federal parliaments to commemorate our centenary. If you haven’t yet purchased your own copy of our centenary book, some copies are still available—go to centenaryshop.redcross.org.au.

While volunteers at home were central to the success of our centenary events, we recently turned our attention to international volunteers, commissioning a research report into the value of global volunteering. We found that international volunteers make a lasting and positive impact on communities in a number of ways, and taking this research into account, we have called on the Australian Government to continue to invest in international volunteers as an essential part of its aid agenda. Read more about how volunteers make a difference on page 8.

While we celebrate the milestone of our centenary, we remain mindful of the difficulties faced both by communities at home and those further afield. In August we launched the Ebola Outbreak 2014 Appeal to help thousands of people affected by the Ebola virus in West Africa. Red Cross workers are carrying out the grim task of disposing of infectious dead bodies, helping to trace people who may have come into contact with those carrying the virus, and reaching more than 10 million people with lifesaving information. Donations to the Ebola Outbreak 2014 Appeal can be made at our website, redcross.org.au, or by calling 1800 811 700.

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See page 9 of this newsletter for more information on how we are helping on the ground.

As you know, this year has involved not only looking to the past, but also taking stock of the present and looking forward to our future. We have recently carried out broad consultation on our organisational path forward for the next five years, Strategy 2020. This new plan sets out our goals and priorities as we begin our second century of people helping people.

Soon it will be a new year, and work is already well underway for our annual fundraising drive, Red Cross Calling. There are many ways you can get involved in our 66th Red Cross Calling in March 2015, but no matter how you choose to fundraise, we need you to register by 28 November. Visit redcrosscalling.org.au or call 1800 008 831 for more information.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We hope you have a safe and happy festive season.

Michael Legge President Australian Red Cross

Robert Tickner CEO Australian Red Cross

Go digital and win Did you know that you can receive this newsletter online, along with other Red Cross updates such as Membership Matters? By providing us with your email address, you can help us save in printing and environmental costs—and if you switch to digital by the end of November, you can even go in the running to win a copy of The Power of Humanity: 100 Years of Australian Red Cross 1914–2014 and a centenary tea towel! To make the switch and enter the prize draw, email your contact details to publications@redcross.org.au.

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Around NSW A message from the Chair and Executive Director

These have included the Premier’s reception and book launch on 15 August as well as a range of activities during that week for members, volunteers, supporters and staff. All events confirmed the pride that our community has in Red Cross and the continuing commitment of Red Cross people. We were pleased that our work was also recognised by statements and motions in Parliament.

The Bunnings BBQs on 9 August saw thousands of Red Cross people and our supporters, including Rotary Club friends, volunteering at 79 sites across NSW and raising almost $140,000 in one day. A few days later, the Young Parents Program hosted a fundraising art exhibition on 15 August, raising $20,000 that will contribute to our continuing work in supporting young parents and their children.

The AGM on 23 September was the 100th AGM for the NSW Division and saw the announcement of newly elected Divisional Advisory Board Members and award winners. We congratulate Andrew Horne, Paul O’Sullivan and Ann Rocca on their re-election, and welcome Margaret Kiehne to her first term on the Divisional Advisory Board.

The AGM was also an opportunity to hear from our CEO, Robert Tickner, who spoke of the passion and commitment of Red Cross people and our history of touching the lives of so many people. We also looked to the future as Robert discussed our vision for the next five years, being put to paper in Strategy 2020.

The Resilient Australia Awards are held annually to recognise and promote activities in making our communities more prepared for emergencies. In this year’s awards we were proud for Red Cross to be named as the winner in the not-for-profit category due to our workshops on building resilience. We were also highly commended as a partner agency for our ‘Working

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Australian Red Cross/Tertius Pickard

The past months have been a once-in-a-hundredyear opportunity for all of us to celebrate the achievements and current work of Australian Red Cross. As Chairman and Executive Director of Red Cross NSW we have been honoured to be involved in commemorations and celebrations across the state.

Anabella and staff member Filipe enjoy the sunshine at a family interaction program day in Ipswich.

A safe place for children At all times, children have the right to be safe and protected. At Red Cross we take our responsibilities seriously in safeguarding the wellbeing of children in our communities. Access our Child Protection Policy and Code of Conduct at redcross.org.au/childprotection and keep informed on how you can protect children and safeguard our future.

Together to Deal with Natural Disasters’ conference and workshop. We extend our appreciation and congratulations to all those volunteers and staff who work in emergency services.

As we near the end of the year, we continue working on initiatives to help people in NSW. We recently commenced a program in the western region to address issues in drought-affected communities. This work has been funded through the generous support of donors.

We thank all members, volunteers and staff for the wonderful work they have done this year, not only in their usual roles but also for making our centenary celebrations such an outstanding success.

John MacLennan NSW Divisional Advisory Board Chair

Jody Broun Executive Director NSW

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Australian Red Cross/Shannon Reddaway

SOLID foundations

The Foundation Day celebration at Melbourne Government House was shared with supporters from near and far.

Not many organisations can claim to have supported people across a vast country, in both times of conflict and peace, for 100 years.

On 13 August we celebrated a century since Lady Helen Munro Ferguson called the first meeting of Red Cross in Australia. The biggest Foundation Day event took place at Government House in Melbourne, in the same room where Lady Helen and her colleagues first met in 1914.

Other celebrations happened at Government House in Canberra, where Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove officially launched The Power of Humanity: 100 years of Australian Red Cross 1914–2014, and in capital cities and country towns across Australia.

CEO Robert Tickner shared his personal Red Cross

story on our Centenary Stories website in honour of Foundation Day. Robert revealed that he still keeps a letter sent from Red Cross to his family in 1916, advising that his grandfather’s brother had died at Gallipoli. He also wrote of why he has campaigned for nuclear disarmament for years, even before he came to our organisation.

“It astounded me then and still does today, that governments have been driven by humanitarian concerns to outlaw the use of chemical weapons, land mines and cluster munitions – yet have failed to deal with the most dangerous and deadly weapons that exist today,” he wrote.

Read Robert’s story alongside hundreds of others at redcross.org.au/centenary.

Partners in recovery Red Cross has teamed up with beyondblue to boost support for people affected by disasters across Australia.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding we will share our expertise and collaborate in areas including program development, public education and research. “Recovery from a disaster is a complex process and can take a long

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time,” says Robert Tickner. “Five years on from Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires, some people are still working through recovery and dealing with feelings of anxiety, sadness and frustration because of what they have lived through, what they have lost and the challenges of re-establishing their lives.”

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Australian Red Cross/Shannon Reddaway

Bunnings BBQ Bonanza

Red Cross and Bunnings cooked up a storm in Melbourne’s Federation Square.

This year’s centenary celebrations have featured many highlights, but it’s hard to beat the achievement and excitement of holding 251 BBQs on one weekend.

We were fortunate to team up with Bunnings to celebrate our 100th birthday and the results were an outstanding success. Thanks to Bunnings’ generous donation of all the food and drinks, as well as the support of the Australian public, we collected $455,000 in just two days!

Our members and volunteers got behind the BBQs with gusto. In true Red Cross spirit, more than 3,600

volunteers helped at 251 events over the weekend and helped cook more than 147,000 sausages.

At promotional Red Cross showcase BBQs held in each capital city, our members, volunteers and staff were joined by Bunnings team members, celebrity ambassadors, sports people, politicians, school children and performers, creating a huge centenary buzz.

Congratulations to everyone involved for helping to raise much-needed funds to support people in need, and creating so much goodwill in the community.

Digital discoveries Check out our digital goodies! We recently joined with triple j and Smiling Mind to launch a new After the Emergency podcast—a free downloadable resource for young people affected by emergencies, providing helpful advice as well as tips and exercises to help listeners recover. It also contains some really great music, which can be downloaded for free at aftertheemergency. redcross.org.au.

For those of us who live peaceful lives in Australia, it can be hard to imagine what life is like for families who have been separated by conflict and disaster. Red Cross’ International Tracing Service works with families around the world to find lost loved ones, re-establish contact and clarify the fate of the missing. Our new web app, ‘A Family Reconnected’, takes people on a tracing journey with Red Cross workers as they search for the missing family of Nadine, a Burundian refugee. Take a look at reconnecting.redcross.org.au.

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Australian Red Cross/ Arunas Klupsas

Australian Red Cross/Shannon Reddaway

Carol speaks once a week with an Aboriginal volunteer through our TeleYARN program.

A yarn to break LONELINESS Regular phone calls from Red Cross volunteers have made a huge difference for Carol, a Dharawal Aboriginal woman who lives alone in Sydney.

“I just used to get up every day and say ‘good morning Carol’ to myself,” she says. Carol’s home care agency recommended she sign up for a brief daily phone call to provide some social interaction and check on her welfare. She also signed up for longer weekly conversations with Aboriginal volunteers – a Red Cross service for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who don’t get to speak to many other people, particularly from their own cultural background.

Carol has experienced depression and anxiety, and says these openended chats have had a big impact on her wellbeing. “When I walk away from the phone after I’ve hung up, it makes my day,” Carol says. “I love it; they’re one of your kind and you don’t feel that loneliness anymore because you know someone cares.”

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Naomi Burchett, Jane Nixon and Yasmin Tian model uniforms from the Red Cross archives. Naomi and Yasmin are members and also on the Victorian Youth Advisory Committee, while Jane is a community services staff member.

Membership is growing!

This year we had a total membership base of 19,910 members, an increase of 8% on last year’s total of 18,448. It’s an exciting time to be involved with Red Cross, with our membership also becoming more diverse—we’ve recently seen growth in our numbers of youth members and independent members who aren’t attached to any branch. New initiatives and opportunities are being offered to members, including our first online talk or ‘webinar’ hosted by Professor Melanie Oppenheimer earlier this year prior to the launch of our centenary book, The Power of Humanity: 100 years of Australian Red Cross 1914–2014. To find out more about the benefits of membership, email members@redcross.org.au or call 1800 811 700.

We appreciate the support of the many members and volunteers who give their time to champion our work in their communities. The next big opportunity to be a local face for Red Cross is during our annual fundraising drive, Red Cross Calling, which happens next March.

Registration closes on 28 November. Visit redcrosscalling.org.au or call 1800 008 831 to find out all the ways you can help us make a difference.

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Australian Red Cross/Greg Goebel A group hug at the recent Centenary Showcase in Brisbane with volunteer Amina Salehi, honorary life member Win Smith and Young Centre coordinator Charlotte Hodges.

The many faces of Red Cross Among the attendees at our Centenary Showcase in Brisbane were three women with three distinct Red Cross stories.

Amina volunteers with our emergency services. After fleeing persecution in Afghanistan with a desire to continue her education, she says she was so grateful for the support her family received in Brisbane that she wanted to give something back to Red Cross.

Now that her family has received permanent residency in Australia, Amina continues to support Red Cross, working with refugee and migrant communities on disaster preparation. She volunteers in community events, carries out door-to-door visits and helps with training whenever there is a need to communicate the preparation message with particularly vulnerable people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Win is a permanent, ever-supportive fixture at Red Cross events large and small in Queensland. As Deputy Chair of the Queensland Divisional Board since 2002, Win puts in between 20 and 30 hours a week on a range of voluntary duties at branch, regional and board levels.

From chairing the National Awards Committee to

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serving on disaster relief funds distribution committees, helping out at emergency evacuation and recovery centres, improving branch processes and training office bearers, Win has done it all.

Charlotte is the service coordinator at the Young Centre, a busy inner-city Brisbane facility where at-risk young people receive support to get back on track and achieve their life goals. She says she loves her work with Red Cross, helping young people to focus on building life skills and securing pathways to housing, healthcare, training and employment.

During our Centenary we’ve had the privilege of hearing countless Red Cross stories, from tales of times gone by on our Centenary Stories website, to the ongoing commitment of lifelong members, and the diverse experiences of people like Amina, Win and Charlotte. At the end of our centenary year, we thank all our supporters for being a part of the inspiring and ongoing Australian Red Cross story.

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Joe Cropp/IFRC

Young Iraqi Red Crescent volunteers are delivering aid to thousands of people displaced in Sinjar.

Through HUNGER and HEAT

“The volunteers in Sinjar are young and have the relaxed attitude of veterans as they gather for this morning’s delivery of relief – simple food parcels containing bread and tins of beans. Three men, none older than 24 years, climb into the first truck.

“At the massive community hall on the outskirts of the town, housing some 200 families, men line up patiently to collect food packages from the back of the truck. As the heat rises through the morning to 43oC, so do tempers. At the last drop-off, a half-finished building site housing 20 families, the crowd starts to turn into a mob as people fear there is not enough to go around.

But with the help of community leaders, an almost embarrassed calm returns. There are not enough food parcels today, but the truck will be back tomorrow.”

The IFRC has launched an emergency appeal to meet the needs of people affected by the conflict in Iraq. Visit ifrc.org to donate.

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Australian Red Cross/Conor Ashleigh

Australian Red Cross staff member Joe Cropp travelled to Iraq earlier this year as a communication delegate for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). While there, he spent some time with Iraqi Red Crescent volunteers in the town of Sinjar near the Syrian border.

The relationships that volunteers build contribute to their success. Maria*, a client at a trauma recovery program in Timor-Leste, shows Australian volunteer Kelly Warner the finer points of knitting. *Client’s name changed to protect privacy.

Volunteers promote CHANGE Red Cross has been sending volunteers overseas since 2011— but why do we do it? What do international volunteers contribute to development?

We undertook research with Australian volunteers and their host organisations in Kenya and Mongolia, and found critical ways in which volunteering has an effect. Volunteers inspire others to do the same— international volunteering appears to increase local volunteering within host communities. Volunteering also provides a foundation for the lasting exchange of skills, leading to stronger organisations and communities.

We found that the more time our volunteers spend immersing themselves in their host communities, the more sustainable their work will be. Finally, Australian volunteers can lead host communities to question and challenge western approaches, and seek their own solutions.

Informed by these findings, we are calling on the Australian Government to invest in international volunteering as an integral part of our country’s aid program.

Read the report at redcross.org.au/volunteeroverseas.

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World’s worst EBOLA OUTBREAK Thousands are affected by the epidemic that is rapidly sweeping through part of the region. More than 4,200 trained Red Cross volunteers, mostly from local communities hit by Ebola, are contributing to the relief effort. They are helping people to understand how Ebola is spread, how to protect themselves and where to get help. They also perform the sad but crucial job of helping people safely bury loved ones.

Australian aid workers are on the ground in Sierra Leone and Liberia, training staff and volunteers in containment and community education. They have helped to set up an emergency Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, where several local health workers have died from the disease.

In total, the International Red Cross Movement hopes to reach 39 million people with information, from door-to-door visits to radio programs and SMS.

Red Cross workers in Sierra Leone manage the safe burial of an Ebola victim.

More still needs to be done. You can help—please donate to the Ebola Outbreak 2014 Appeal at redcross.org.au/ebolaappeal.

High cost of conflict The conflict in Gaza and Israel has taken an unacceptable toll on civilians, and together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), we have called on all sides to respond to the humanitarian needs of those affected.

In Gaza, approximately 70 per cent of the more than 2,100 people killed were civilians. More than 17,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, along with more than 215 schools.

Humanitarian priorities include provision of medical supplies, generators and fuel for health facilities, mobile health care, psychosocial support and temporary shelters. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in Gaza and Israel have been working to provide these services.

Australian Red Cross’ Director of International Humanitarian Law and Movement Relations,

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ICRC

IFRC/Katherine Mueller

We recently launched an appeal to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by the largest ever outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.

The conflict has severely damaged Gaza’s already fragile water and sewage networks.

Dr Phoebe Wynn-Pope, says the most vulnerable people—children, the elderly, the sick and the wounded—have paid the highest price in the conflict.

“We must continue to advocate for international humanitarian law to be respected at all times. Attacks against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law.”

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Australian Red Cross/Louise Cooper

Humanity after hours Young people are playing an ever greater role in Red Cross, empowered by events such as last year’s Global Youth Conference.

In NSW we recently launched the Red Cross Young Professionals Network, a membership-based group of young people who want to engage with Red Cross in fun and stimulating ways that will fit in with a full-time work schedule.

Chair of the NSW Youth Advisory Committee and co-founder of the group, Greta Whyte, hopes the Young Professionals will bridge a gap in youth engagement and introduce a new demographic to Red Cross. “It’s really exciting to be part of a movement that encourages engagement with Red Cross to young professionals who may not have previously had capacity to get involved,” Greta says.

“The group will be able to cater to full-time workers and provide an easy way for members to get involved in great volunteering, networking and fundraising opportunities.”

Red Cross Young Professionals meets on the last Thursday of every month from 6.30pm and newcomers are welcome. Email youngprofessionals@redcross.org.au for details.

Connecting community links Two years ago, a small group of Aboriginal clients asked Red Cross to provide them with more services in addition to daily phone calls—services that would put them in touch with other Aboriginal people and build a community. From there, the Wolkara (Doonside) Elders’ Group was born, providing an outlet for Elders to share stories, enjoy activities and go on social outings together.

The group now has more than 25 members and a new home in the Ngullawal Child and Family Centre. As well as attending outings and information sessions, group members visit local schools, preschools and other Elders’ groups to share their stories. The group provides a valuable connection point for the Elders, who also help and support each other between meetings in a number of ways.

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After hearing about our TeleYARN service, which provides culturally appropriate outreach phone calls for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, five members of the Elders’ Group now volunteer each week to make phone calls to others, just as they once received Red Cross calls themselves.

Find out more about TeleYARN at redcross.org.au/teleyarn.aspx.

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Our Young Parents Program works to improve the capacity of very young parents to live and parent independently and provide the best outcomes for their children. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that young parents and their children reach their full potential within safe, strong and resilient families.

From July 2013 to June this year, we supported more than 100 young families across four regions: Eastern/Inner Sydney, South Western Sydney, the Central Coast and Shoalhaven. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of volunteers, who gave more than 4,000 hours of their time to the program.

In late June we surveyed the young parents we

have helped to find out what they think about the program. Of 41 parents surveyed, 93% said we had helped to bring about a positive change for their child. They reported that our program helped by providing safe housing and improved nutrition, giving their children opportunities to socialise, and teaching parents how to manage tantrums, settle babies to sleep, and manage child development.

Something about Mary

Australian Red Cross

During our Centenary we shared the story of stalwart Red Cross member Mary Mundy, who charmed Channel 7’s news anchor Mark Ferguson when he joined her at the Red Cross Tea Rooms in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta.

Mark Ferguson and Mary Mundy at the Parramatta Tea Rooms.

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Mary has been a Red Cross member since she took her daughter to the tea rooms 23 years ago and answered an advertisement for a volunteer, building on her lifetime of community service with other local organisations. Mary is 93 years old, has 12 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren, and still finds time to help run the tea rooms each Friday.

Mark Ferguson asked Mary about her legacy of care and compassion, to which she quickly replied “that is what you are supposed to do, you help people, and that is what I love doing”.

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iStock/Squaredpixels

Confident and capable young parents

Time to get social

We want to give all our supporters the chance to be part of our extended community, no matter where they live. That’s been key to our strategy of increasing our social media presence over the past six months.

Our Facebook community has grown to over 90,000 and our Twitter following is about to top 20,000.

Our newer LinkedIn and Instagram presences are also growing strongly.

From news to weather warnings, and from funny Red Cross Shop signage to emergency appeals that are no laughing matter, we have it all! Join us on Twitter and Instagram @redcrossau, give us a ‘like’ at facebook.com/AustralianRedCross, and get professional at linkedin.com/ company/australian-red-cross.

Australian Red Cross/Renae Droop

Did you know that one in two Aussies are on Facebook?

Or that 15% of internet users are on Twitter?

Help someone like Betty this Christmas Betty is 88 years old and has lived alone on a rural property since her husband passed away. When she fell severely ill one night, collapsed and was unable to call for help, she almost died.

When Red Cross called to check on Betty and received no response, we were able to take steps to get her emergency medical assistance. “I rely on that phone call. It probably saved my life,” Betty says.

Every day we help thousands of Australians cope with personal crisis.

By supporting the Red Cross Christmas Appeal, your gift will help thousands of vulnerable people and communities both in Australia and further afield.

Donate now at redcross.org.au or call 1800 811 700.

Contact your local Red Cross office for more information: National Office 155 Pelham Street Carlton VIC 3053 T 1800 811 700 F 1800 855 240 redcross.org.au

NSW St Andrew’s House Level 4, 464 Kent Street Sydney NSW 2000 T 02 9229 4111 F 02 9229 4244 E nswinfo@redcross.org.au Cover Image: Australian Red Cross/Lara Cole Anna Griffin at the Alexandria, NSW Bunnings BBQ.

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