WA - Australian Red Cross
WA - Australian Red Cross
WA - Australian Red Cross
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Spring 2011 Issue 5<br />
Newsletter<br />
for members<br />
and volunteers<br />
<strong>WA</strong> edition<br />
P4 Make nuclear weapons<br />
the target<br />
P6 <strong>Australian</strong> wins highest<br />
nursing award<br />
P9 First impressions on<br />
the field<br />
P10 Big Cake Bake
PAGE 2<br />
AROUND AUSTRALIA<br />
Message from the<br />
President and CEO<br />
The year began with floods,<br />
fires and cyclones across<br />
the nation. During this<br />
challenging time, <strong>Australian</strong><br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> members,<br />
volunteers and staff showed<br />
the world what the power of<br />
humanity can achieve.<br />
Every day, since the summer of<br />
disasters, your commitment to helping<br />
vulnerable people has not wavered.<br />
Along with many <strong>Australian</strong>s, many of<br />
you gave generously to our appeals to<br />
provide relief to affected communities.<br />
These major appeals have now closed:<br />
• Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal 2011<br />
• Victorian Floods Appeal 2011<br />
• New Zealand Earthquake Appeal 2011.<br />
For donating to various appeals,<br />
holding fundraising events, or<br />
volunteering for any one of our<br />
services - thank you.<br />
We’d like to take this opportunity to<br />
highlight the value of our <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
members, an integral part of the future<br />
of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>. If you volunteer for <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong>, and would like to become more<br />
involved, consider becoming a <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> member. As a member, you join<br />
the world’s largest humanitarian<br />
movement and can help shape our<br />
future. Contact your state or territory<br />
office (details on page 12) or go to<br />
www.redcross.org.au to find out how.<br />
In other news, we have launched an<br />
innovative new campaign to reignite<br />
the push to ban the use of nuclear<br />
weapons. The campaign draws<br />
attention to the horrific humanitarian<br />
and environmental effects of nuclear<br />
weapons, and calls on the international<br />
community to do more to ensure<br />
nuclear weapons no longer pose a<br />
threat to our future.<br />
You can help. Head to<br />
www.targetnuclearweapons.org.au<br />
and vote ‘yes’ to ban the use of<br />
nuclear weapons. Enter your name<br />
and email address to receive further<br />
information about the campaign and<br />
the forthcoming ‘social explosion’.<br />
With this campaign, we are using the<br />
power of social media to talk to people<br />
about critical humanitarian issues.<br />
While you’re online, join the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
network on Facebook and Twitter for<br />
news, stories and videos.<br />
We’re facing another critical<br />
humanitarian issue: the devastating<br />
drought and famine in East Africa. The<br />
United Nations reports more than<br />
12 million people are in need of<br />
humanitarian assistance in the region.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> is running the East Africa<br />
Drought Appeal 2011 to provide<br />
drought-affected communities in<br />
Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia with<br />
emergency relief including food, water<br />
and health assistance. You can help<br />
too by donating to the appeal.<br />
Visit www.redcross.org.au or call<br />
1800 811 700 to donate today.<br />
The commitment and dedication of<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> aid workers is<br />
well known and greatly respected, not<br />
only by those within the Movement,<br />
but by the thousands of people they<br />
help. <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> nurse and<br />
aid worker Noela Davies has been<br />
awarded the prestigious Florence<br />
Nightingale Medal in recognition of her<br />
outstanding work in many areas of<br />
conflict around the world. We<br />
congratulate Noela on receiving this<br />
award – she is an inspiration to us all.<br />
Once again, thank you to all members<br />
and volunteers for your tireless efforts<br />
this year. As we approach the end of<br />
2011, we look back on a year that all<br />
of us can be proud of.<br />
Keep up the wonderful work.<br />
Greg Vickery<br />
President<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Robert Tickner<br />
Chief Executive Officer<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Cover photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>
<strong>WA</strong> NEWS<br />
PAGE 3<br />
Message from<br />
the Chair and<br />
Executive Director<br />
It is hard to believe that we are already<br />
in the throes of spring. If you live in the<br />
south or east of the state, you may<br />
have thought that this winter was a<br />
mild one in terms of temperatures but<br />
this may not be true if you were one of<br />
the 100,000 homeless people doing it<br />
tough in Australia this winter.<br />
During Homeless Persons Week 2011,<br />
we opened our doors to assist people<br />
experiencing homelessness. If they<br />
wished, we helped to reconnect them<br />
with family and friends through various<br />
communication methods. We were<br />
thrilled that so many people took this<br />
opportunity, not only to see how the<br />
internet and Facebook work, but to<br />
also receive valuable information and a<br />
much-needed cup of soup and a<br />
sandwich. This initiative was a great<br />
success, so much so that we<br />
extended the sessions for four further<br />
Mondays. Pleasingly, this was a terrific<br />
example of where staff, volunteers and<br />
unit members came together to make<br />
a real difference. Congratulations to all<br />
involved and we encourage you to<br />
read the article enclosed in this edition.<br />
This is just one example of our work,<br />
and we remain both humbled and<br />
inspired by the great work you are all<br />
doing all over Western Australia. Thank<br />
you for your contributions, no matter<br />
how big or small.<br />
We hope you all take the time to enjoy<br />
the warmer weather of springtime.<br />
Ian Anson<br />
Chair, Advisory<br />
Board <strong>WA</strong><br />
Steve Joske CSC<br />
Executive Director<br />
<strong>WA</strong><br />
How can I support<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>?<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> relies on committed<br />
volunteers and donors. You can<br />
support <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> by:<br />
• giving monthly, leaving a<br />
bequest in your will or making<br />
a one-off donation. Visit<br />
www.redcross.org.au or call<br />
1800 811 700 to find out how.<br />
• giving blood. Visit<br />
www.donateblood.com.au<br />
or call 13 14 95 to make an<br />
appointment.<br />
Support us as a<br />
member of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
As a <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> member, you<br />
are part of one of the oldest<br />
and largest humanitarian<br />
organisations in the world.<br />
Members help us grow the<br />
Power of Humanity by showing<br />
what can be done when people<br />
care enough to come together<br />
to help others.<br />
Renew your membership or<br />
join us now:<br />
www.redcross.org.au.<br />
Launch of Members’ Action Kit<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> is delighted to announce the<br />
arrival of the Members’ Action Kit, which<br />
has been developed in conjunction with<br />
members to provide improved resources<br />
to support the work of members in<br />
branches/units/clubs.<br />
The Kit brings together information<br />
about <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>, its proud history<br />
and vision, and some suggestions<br />
about ways the organisation and its<br />
members can work towards<br />
building a strong future together. The<br />
content was developed in<br />
consultation with members, staff and<br />
volunteers, and draws on their<br />
experience and knowledge.<br />
The Kits have been funded by the<br />
national office and production costs<br />
were offset with the generous<br />
assistance of designers and<br />
printers. Hard copies of the Kit are<br />
being distributed to branches/units/<br />
clubs around the country.<br />
For ideas about how you can best<br />
use the Members’ Action Kit, please<br />
contact the Membership Coordinator<br />
in your State/Territory for support.<br />
Newsletter for members and volunteers
PAGE 4<br />
AROUND AUSTRALIA<br />
Help make nuclear weapons the target<br />
Hiroshima survivor Junko Morimoto,<br />
who now lives in Australia, has<br />
pledged her support for the<br />
campaign, along with a number of<br />
celebrities, including <strong>Australian</strong> media<br />
personality Ruby Rose, Masterchef<br />
contestant Marion Grasby and<br />
Hungry Beast’s Dan Ilic.<br />
The first stage of the campaign is<br />
focused on growing critical mass behind<br />
the project, ahead of a ‘social explosion’<br />
in November 2011, and we need the<br />
help of our members and volunteers!<br />
It takes less than a minute to<br />
support the campaign. Simply:<br />
Devastation in Hiroshima, 1945. Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> has<br />
launched an innovative new<br />
campaign to reignite the<br />
push for a ban on the use of<br />
nuclear weapons.<br />
Make Nuclear Weapons the Target<br />
draws attention to the horrific<br />
humanitarian and environmental<br />
effects of nuclear weapons and calls<br />
on the international community to do<br />
more to ensure nuclear weapons no<br />
longer pose a threat to our future.<br />
Nuclear weapons are capable of<br />
destroying the planet in a matter of<br />
hours. The world saw their devastating<br />
impact after a nuclear bomb was<br />
dropped on the Japanese city of<br />
Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, killing<br />
tens of thousands of people and<br />
causing unimaginable suffering.<br />
Since then there have been efforts to<br />
make the use of nuclear weapons<br />
illegal, but to this day, not enough has<br />
been done. <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> wants to help<br />
ensure the world never again faces a<br />
similar tragedy.<br />
1. Go to<br />
www.targetnuclearweapons.org.au<br />
2. Vote to support a ban on the use<br />
of nuclear weapons.<br />
3. Enter your name and email<br />
address to get updates about<br />
the coming ‘social explosion’.<br />
4. Encourage your friends and<br />
families to vote – use the Share<br />
button to post a link to your<br />
Facebook wall, post an update to<br />
your Google+ circles, send a<br />
tweet or pass on by email.<br />
Doing it Tough Appeal success<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> supports people doing it<br />
tough in Australia and around the<br />
world. We are currently active in an<br />
unprecedented number of disaster<br />
areas worldwide, while also<br />
maintaining our regular local and<br />
overseas programs. To coincide with<br />
World <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> <strong>Red</strong> Crescent Day<br />
on 8 May, <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> launched the<br />
Doing it Tough Appeal, with a national<br />
television commercial supported by<br />
BHP Billiton. The campaign allowed<br />
us to reach the greatest number of<br />
people than ever before and<br />
encourage them to donate and<br />
support our everyday work.<br />
The Doing it Tough Appeal raised<br />
more than one million dollars. These<br />
funds will support vulnerable people<br />
in Australia and around the world.<br />
Thank you to everyone who donated.<br />
Watch the commercial on YouTube at<br />
www.youtube.com/redcrossaust.
AROUND AUSTRALIA<br />
PAGE 5<br />
Baking the world<br />
a better place<br />
Learn<br />
with <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong><br />
College<br />
Want to pick up skills for<br />
life? <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> has always<br />
been known for First Aid<br />
training. A Registered<br />
Training Organisation, <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> College offers more<br />
than 43 courses nationwide,<br />
equipping <strong>Australian</strong>s<br />
with training to help them<br />
save lives, gain employment<br />
or further their expertise.<br />
Big Cake Bake Ambassador Megan Gale. Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
The <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Big Cake Bake is the<br />
sweetest fundraising event<br />
of the year, allowing<br />
<strong>Australian</strong>s to show off their<br />
baking skills while supporting<br />
the work of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
During October, people of all ages are<br />
hosting events in their homes,<br />
workplaces or communities. They’re<br />
having cake sales, baking competitions<br />
and themed dinner parties with dessert<br />
as the focus. The aim is to raise as<br />
much money as possible so <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
can continue its work improving the lives<br />
of vulnerable people.<br />
From petite cupcakes to towering<br />
sponges, all kinds of baked treats will<br />
help support the everyday work of <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> in Australia and around the world.<br />
For more information about this unique<br />
fundraising opportunity and recipes from<br />
Australia’s favourite celebrities, visit<br />
www.bigcakebake.org.au.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> College also offers<br />
employment and business<br />
services in Queensland. The<br />
services are offered to disabled or<br />
vulnerable people who have<br />
struggled to find sustainable<br />
employment opportunities.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> College is always<br />
looking for competent and<br />
qualified trainers to deliver new<br />
and existing courses in every<br />
state. If you are a qualified trainer,<br />
and want to make a difference<br />
to people’s lives please visit<br />
www.redcross.edu.au and contact<br />
the College office in your state.<br />
For available courses and details<br />
about how to enrol, please visit<br />
www.redcross.edu.au.<br />
Homeless Persons’ Week<br />
Tonight, nearly one in every 200 people in Australia will spend the night homeless. This means around 105,000 men,<br />
women and children will be without a safe, secure and affordable home. For Homeless Persons’ Week in August, we<br />
spoke to three people who have been helped by <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> programs including the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> Night Cafe in Brisbane.<br />
Hear their stories and more at www.youtube.com/redcrossaust.<br />
Newsletter for members and volunteers
PAGE 6<br />
INTERNATIONAL NEWS<br />
A new life in Solomon Islands<br />
Melissa Bencik has just<br />
arrived in Solomon Islands as<br />
an <strong>Australian</strong> volunteer<br />
supported by <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong>. She will spend the next<br />
12 months helping increase<br />
youth engagement with<br />
Solomon Islands <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>,<br />
especially as blood donors.<br />
Melissa took the time to write<br />
about her new surroundings:<br />
coconuts, postcard-perfect<br />
beaches and reggae.<br />
I expected intense heat to hit me<br />
in the face when I disembarked the<br />
plane, but it wasn’t as bad as I<br />
thought. The 2am arrival may have<br />
had something to do with it, although<br />
even at that hour the air smelled<br />
damp and moist and my jeans<br />
clung to my legs, feeling three times<br />
their weight.<br />
Two weeks on, I can’t say I’ve fully<br />
acclimatised to the hot weather of<br />
Solomon Islands, but it trumps a<br />
Melbourne winter.<br />
The city of Honiara consists of one<br />
main road which can be walked in<br />
about 30 minutes. Rubbish covers the<br />
streets and fills rivers. Footpaths must<br />
be navigated carefully, as people chew<br />
and spit betel-nut everywhere. But<br />
take a short drive out of Honiara and<br />
the scenery changes into luscious<br />
greenery and beautiful clean beaches,<br />
dotted with shipwrecks from World<br />
War II to snorkel and dive around.<br />
The local buses, considered minivans<br />
by <strong>Australian</strong> standards, pump<br />
out island reggae music that makes<br />
me smile. Coconuts are readily<br />
available for drinking (living the<br />
Pacific cliché) and the bush lime is<br />
tasty and refreshing. You can buy<br />
coconut bread at the bakery and<br />
fresh fish and produce at the local<br />
market. I’m yet to learn local recipes<br />
for all this local food.<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> Volunteer Melissa Bencik with staff from <strong>Australian</strong> and Solomon Islands <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> Societies.<br />
Photo: Julian Troth.<br />
I’m finding my colleagues at Solomon<br />
Islands <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> to be very friendly<br />
and helpful, and are dedicated to their<br />
work. I already feel like I’ve known<br />
them for far longer than I actually have.<br />
My role to help engage young people as<br />
blood donors comes with its own<br />
challenges. Generally, awareness of the<br />
need for blood donation is quite basic<br />
and the majority of donations come from<br />
people whose families are sick and in<br />
hospital. Given that a large percentage<br />
of the population is under 25, there’s a<br />
clear need to engage this audience, and<br />
so my work is cut out for me.<br />
I look forward to embracing this<br />
opportunity with open arms over the<br />
coming year, hopefully with many<br />
more coconuts and reggae-filled bus<br />
rides along the way.<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> Volunteers for<br />
International Development<br />
is a new program from the<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> Government,<br />
managed by AusAID and<br />
implemented by <strong>Australian</strong><br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
There are many opportunities<br />
for <strong>Australian</strong>s to volunteer<br />
in Asia, Africa and the Pacific.<br />
The program covers airfares,<br />
accommodation, living<br />
allowances, insurance and<br />
other costs.<br />
Visit www.ausaid.gov.au/<br />
volunteer and search for<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> assignments, or<br />
call us on (03) 9345 1834.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS<br />
PAGE 7<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> aid worker<br />
wins international award<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> nurse and <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> aid worker Noela Davies<br />
has received a prestigious<br />
humanitarian medal, the<br />
highest international honour<br />
for her profession. The<br />
Florence Nightingale Medal is<br />
awarded by the International<br />
Committee of the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
(ICRC) and recognises<br />
exceptional courage and<br />
devotion to victims of armed<br />
conflict or natural disaster.<br />
‘Can you imagine a woman who does<br />
not read or write, not even the Koran,<br />
having to learn how to recognise and<br />
treat signs of anaemia?’ says Noela as<br />
she recalls one of her most rewarding<br />
missions, furthering basic medical skills<br />
among women in Ethiopia’s Gode<br />
region. ‘The main illnesses identified in<br />
that area were malaria, diarrhoea, eye<br />
infections, and wounds,’ she says. ‘The<br />
women were great – they were<br />
interested and committed and they<br />
picked up information quickly.’<br />
This is one example of the ten<br />
challenging <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> missions that<br />
Noela has completed. She has worked<br />
in war-torn Kenya and South Sudan<br />
performing triage and treating the<br />
wounded. She established a primary<br />
health care facility in Kenya’s floodaffected<br />
coastal towns. In Australia, she<br />
has worked to improve the health of<br />
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander<br />
communities. For Noela, there is still<br />
work to be done and she will continue to<br />
volunteer for overseas missions.<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> Head of<br />
International Programs Donna<br />
McSkimming said, ‘Noela is a credit to<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> nursing – an ordinary<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> who has made an<br />
extraordinary contribution.’<br />
Noela humbly accepted the award in<br />
front of fellow delegates and <strong>Australian</strong><br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> staff in June. ‘I accept this<br />
award on behalf of delegates, past and<br />
present, from International Committee<br />
of the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> and other aid<br />
organisations.’ Speaking at the<br />
presentation ceremony, <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> CEO Robert Tickner described<br />
the Medal as, ‘the mother of all awards.<br />
It embodies the wonderful values that<br />
we all work for here at <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.’<br />
Noela is one of 39 recipients from 19<br />
countries of the Florence Nightingale<br />
Noela Davies. Photo: Louise Cooper.<br />
Medal in 2011. The awards also<br />
recognise exemplary service or a<br />
pioneering spirit in areas of public<br />
health or nursing education. Recipients<br />
were nominated by their local national<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> or <strong>Red</strong> Crescent Society<br />
and selected by a commission<br />
comprised of the ICRC, the<br />
International Federation of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
and <strong>Red</strong> Crescent Societies and the<br />
International Council of Nurses.<br />
Humanitarian crisis in East Africa<br />
More than a million displaced people<br />
in Somalia are searching for shelter<br />
and food, and people living in the<br />
Eastern Horn of Africa are facing the<br />
worst drought conditions in 60 years.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> is there to help.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> is setting up feeding<br />
programs for malnourished children<br />
and providing safe drinking water. In<br />
Somalia, <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> has distributed<br />
more than 300 tonnes of assorted<br />
seeds along with farm tools like<br />
shovels, hoes and rakes to enable<br />
farmers to cultivate crops.<br />
How you can help<br />
More than 12 million people in<br />
East Africa are in need of urgent<br />
humanitarian aid according to the<br />
United Nations. You can help by<br />
donating to the East Africa Drought<br />
Appeal 2011 through visiting<br />
www.redcross.org.au or calling<br />
1800 811 700.<br />
Newsletter for members and volunteers
PAGE 8<br />
AROUND AUSTRALIA<br />
Centenary Year of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> in<br />
Australia 2014 – get involved!<br />
The Centenary and Member<br />
Engagement Committee is gearing up<br />
to celebrate 100 years of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> in<br />
Australia in 2014 – and we want to<br />
hear from you! The Committee is<br />
calling for expressions of interest,<br />
ideas and initiatives to mark this<br />
significant milestone.<br />
We invite you to look to our history and<br />
to our future, inside the organisation and<br />
out, as together we reach out to<br />
potential new members, supporters of<br />
all ages and backgrounds, and<br />
vulnerable people in our community. You<br />
can focus on one or more of the goals<br />
endorsed by the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> Board to:<br />
• celebrate the achievements and<br />
contributions of 100 years of <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> in Australia<br />
• energise the <strong>Australian</strong> community<br />
to support the work of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
• strengthen <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> for the future to<br />
reduce vulnerability and improve lives.<br />
More information about these goals as<br />
well as the guiding principles that<br />
underpin them can also be found via<br />
the website at www.redcross.org.au/<br />
heritage. In order to consider ideas<br />
from as many <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> people as<br />
possible, the Centenary and Member<br />
Engagement Committee asks you to<br />
complete and submit an expression of<br />
interest form no later than 31 January<br />
2012. Download the form at<br />
www.redcross.org.au/heritage.<br />
The Committee will ensure that no<br />
matter who you are, no matter where<br />
you live, and no matter how you<br />
contribute to <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>, you can play a<br />
role in celebrating the Centenary of <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> in Australia in 2014. Some of the<br />
best ideas, including those that take<br />
into account many of the goals and<br />
guiding principles, may also be invited<br />
to develop more substantial proposals.<br />
If you are unable to access the internet,<br />
call your state/territory’s Membership<br />
Coordinator through the contact details<br />
on page 12 of this newsletter.<br />
Trusts and foundations at <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Following this year’s unprecedented<br />
summer of natural disasters, <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> engaged philanthropic<br />
organisations to support our<br />
emergency services work. As a result,<br />
philanthropic partners offered the<br />
national recovery program significant<br />
support. The Community Enterprise<br />
Foundation, Lord Mayor’s Charitable<br />
Foundation and Collier Charitable<br />
Fund are to be commended for their<br />
unique and collaborative funding<br />
approach, supporting a suite of<br />
recovery programs in flood-affected<br />
communities across Queensland.<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> has established strong<br />
relationships with trusts and foundations<br />
within Australia and overseas. The trusts<br />
and foundations team at the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
national office manages all philanthropic<br />
funding opportunities for national, state<br />
and locally based programs for each of<br />
the service areas.<br />
Local networks can strengthen this<br />
area of work and <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> members<br />
are invited to share local funding<br />
opportunities with the National Trusts<br />
and Foundations Manager. Contact<br />
philanthropy@redcross.org.au or call<br />
(03) 9341 7523.
AROUND AUSTRALIA<br />
PAGE 9<br />
Face-to-face: the best<br />
way to fundraise<br />
‘We’re raising awaremess of the many services <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> provides,’ says Liz Atkinson. Photo: Louise Cooper<br />
You may have seen them in<br />
shopping centres, on city<br />
street corners or outside your<br />
local cafe, talking with people<br />
about the work of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
They are the fundraisers who<br />
connect <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> with the<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> public. They work<br />
to secure donors who give on<br />
a regular basis – our valuable<br />
‘regular givers’.<br />
Regular giving is one of the most<br />
effective methods of raising muchneeded<br />
donations, so that we can<br />
continue helping vulnerable people.<br />
Our ongoing work is not possible<br />
without regular donations from the<br />
<strong>Australian</strong> public, which is why <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> has worked in partnership with<br />
cause-driven fundraising agency<br />
Cornucopia for ten years. Cornucopia<br />
has a team of fundraisers who<br />
specialise in engaging the public in<br />
conversation to raise awareness of<br />
non profit organisations and to recruit<br />
ongoing, regular donors.<br />
Liz Atkinson has made a career out of<br />
regular giving fundraising. She started<br />
work as a fundraiser when she was<br />
backpacking in Australia from the UK.<br />
She loved the work so much she stuck<br />
around, and now, eight years later, Liz is<br />
training and managing fundraising<br />
teams. Liz feels it’s so important that<br />
charities like <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> are conducting<br />
this method of fundraising. ‘Every single<br />
day we have people out there on the<br />
street, we secure a certain number of<br />
regular donors for <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>,’ she says.<br />
‘But, apart from that, we’re raising<br />
awareness of the many services <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> provides to the thousands of<br />
people who pass us every day. So we’re<br />
helping to educate the public, too.’<br />
Regular Giving Manager Mike Nixon<br />
was once a street fundraiser before<br />
joining <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> in Sydney. ‘We can’t<br />
always rely on people going to the<br />
website and making donations,’ he<br />
says. ‘It’s important we directly reach<br />
out to people. The number of people<br />
who know about our emergency<br />
services work, but don’t know about<br />
our other services, is remarkable.’<br />
Many of the regular giving fundraisers<br />
are young people, so it’s an effective<br />
way to reach out to other young<br />
people who are unaware of the many<br />
services <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> offers.<br />
Cornucopia recently gave Liz the<br />
opportunity to see first-hand how<br />
water and sanitation programs<br />
improve lives in Cambodia. ‘It really<br />
changed my life. There’s a very big<br />
difference between understanding the<br />
work of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>, and then seeing<br />
for yourself how that work makes a<br />
difference to the lives of people living in<br />
remote communities,’ she says. ‘I use<br />
that experience when I train our<br />
fundraisers. They can see the emotion<br />
behind my experience and that makes<br />
a massive difference to the way they<br />
communicate with people on the<br />
street. We make sure that everyone<br />
working for <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> has a real<br />
emotional attachment to the work we<br />
do.’ Liz explains that many of the regular<br />
giving fundraisers are donors themselves.<br />
Next time you see a <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
regular giving fundraiser in your<br />
community, stop and say hello. To<br />
find out how you can become a<br />
regular giver visit www.redcross.org.au<br />
or call 1800 811 700.<br />
Regular giving is one of the most effective fundraising<br />
methods. Photo: Louise Cooper.<br />
Newsletter for members and volunteers
PAGE 10<br />
<strong>WA</strong> NEWS<br />
Homeless Persons’ Week:<br />
the power of social media<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> provides services to people facing homelessness across the country. Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>.<br />
On any given night, almost<br />
14,000 people are homeless in<br />
Western Australia, as recorded<br />
in the 2006 Census. For the<br />
thousands of people<br />
experiencing homelessness,<br />
finding a roof over their head<br />
and a safe place to spend the<br />
night is a challenge.<br />
Kendal Head, Project Manager for<br />
Reconnect Through Facebook reports on<br />
local events for Homeless Persons’ Week.<br />
This year, events centred around the<br />
theme of ‘diversity’, engaging diverse<br />
people, from diverse addresses for<br />
diverse reasons. In Western Australia,<br />
Reconnect Through Facebook was a<br />
social networking event providing<br />
homeless people with the opportunity to<br />
reconnect with family and friends they<br />
may have lost contact with. The concept<br />
behind Reconnect Through Facebook<br />
came about when I found myself<br />
thinking about the degree of social<br />
isolation that someone living without a<br />
fixed address might experience.<br />
By providing access to Facebook (and<br />
the internet) along with the support of<br />
volunteers, homeless people came<br />
along to set up a Facebook account,<br />
in a safe and friendly environment, and<br />
begin making contact and<br />
reconnecting with lost family and<br />
friends. This journey was enhanced by<br />
the social, emotional and technical<br />
support of various staff, volunteers and<br />
external agencies.<br />
The five-day event meant people could<br />
come back again and again and each<br />
time access food, Facebook,<br />
information, support and a chat. Each<br />
night the numbers grew, with six people<br />
on our first night to more than 30 by the<br />
final night. Regulars came back<br />
bringing along friends to enjoy some<br />
warm soup, home-cooked baked<br />
goods, freshly made sandwiches and a<br />
warm cup of tea or coffee in their very<br />
own mug, which they could keep. We<br />
also provided warm clothing, <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> beanies, toiletry packs, fruit,<br />
tinned food and even shoes for visitors<br />
to take with them.<br />
This event showcased the depth and<br />
value of the many services <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
offers in providing a hollistic approach<br />
to addressing homelessness.<br />
Soup was provided by the <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Soup Patrol service; drug and alcohol<br />
harm minimisation education was<br />
provided from our save-a-mate<br />
program; qualified First Aid trainers<br />
provided training and education on First<br />
Aid essentials on a one-to-one basis;<br />
retail services provided warm clothing;<br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> units provided nutritious<br />
food; information and guided referrals<br />
were provided from our Private Tenancy<br />
Support program and our IT department<br />
provided crucial technical support.<br />
In addition, a number of local<br />
community businesses made<br />
donations, including Coles<br />
Northbridge, Food Bank, Priceline and<br />
Hollywood Hospital. St Vincent’s<br />
Passages Resource Centre, YMCA<br />
and Nyoongar Patrol provided face-toface<br />
information and referrals to a<br />
range of ongoing support services.<br />
Throughout the week, we saw a diverse<br />
range of age groups, cultural<br />
backgrounds, living conditions, social<br />
skills, computer skills and health<br />
conditions. The attendees shared their<br />
stories and experiences about being<br />
homeless, out of work, the difficulty in<br />
maintaining a job, their struggles with<br />
mental illness, legal complications, and<br />
most of all the lack of affordable housing.<br />
The beauty of social media is that no<br />
matter where in the world someone<br />
might be or what their life might be<br />
like, through Facebook, you are able<br />
to keep in contact and meet people<br />
from all over the world. Combining this<br />
with the dedication and invaluable<br />
support of <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong>’ staff and<br />
volunteers, it was an event that<br />
brought hope and joy to all involved.<br />
Thank you to everyone who helped<br />
bring this event to life.<br />
Join <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> on Facebook<br />
www.facebook.com/<br />
<strong>Australian</strong><strong>Red</strong><strong>Cross</strong>
<strong>WA</strong> NEWS<br />
PAGE 11<br />
Peace of mind<br />
SAM<br />
Our Way<br />
Workshop<br />
in Broome<br />
The SAM Our Way<br />
program aims to improve<br />
social and emotional<br />
wellbeing in Aboriginal and<br />
Torres Strait Islander young<br />
people between ages 16<br />
and 25. Program activities<br />
address depression, anxiety,<br />
violence and problematic<br />
substance use and work to<br />
reduce harms associated<br />
with these issues through<br />
prevention education and<br />
capacity building.<br />
Sarina Cinquegrana spending some time out with her mother Maria Anfuso. Photo: Frances Andrijich<br />
Sarina is the primary carer for both her<br />
mother, Maria, who lives with her, and<br />
her father, Giuseppe, who lives alone.<br />
In 2005, Maria suffered a severe stroke<br />
which left her with multiple mental and<br />
physical disabilities. Now living with<br />
Sarina, Maria requires around-theclock<br />
support, leaving little time for<br />
Sarina to help her dad. Concerned<br />
about her father’s wellbeing, Sarina<br />
contacted <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> for support.<br />
Giuseppe now receives a short daily<br />
call from a friendly <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
Telecross volunteers needed<br />
Telecross is a free service which<br />
provides reassurance to people<br />
who may be disabled, frail,<br />
medically at risk or people who<br />
live alone in their own homes.<br />
The program allows older people<br />
to maintain their independence<br />
for as long as possible, reducing<br />
Telecross volunteer, providing peace of<br />
mind to his devoted daughter and<br />
allowing Giuseppe to continue to live<br />
on his own.<br />
‘Being a full time carer for my mum<br />
takes all my time, which makes it<br />
difficult to keep checking on my dad,’<br />
says Sarina. ‘The daily phone calls<br />
have enabled Dad to have some<br />
independence and quality of life in his<br />
own home. We don’t have to worry<br />
about him as much and it gives us<br />
reassurance to know he’s OK.’<br />
the instance of premature or<br />
inappropriate admission into<br />
residential aged care.<br />
To find out about receiving a<br />
daily phone call, or becoming a<br />
volunteer, call <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> on<br />
1300 885 698.<br />
In July 2011, Western Australia<br />
hosted the national SAM Our Way<br />
workshop in Broome. Representatives<br />
from the program in South Australia<br />
and Northern Territory attended the<br />
workshop, along with key national<br />
office staff.<br />
The three-day forum commenced<br />
with a ‘Welcome to Country’ at the<br />
Kimberley Regional Office in<br />
Broome, followed by a series of<br />
interactive workshops,<br />
presentations and discussions.<br />
Local staff from other community<br />
programs joined the workshop to<br />
learn and share their experiences.<br />
In Western Australia, SAM Our Way<br />
sites operate in Kwinana and the<br />
West Kimberley, where program<br />
activities include cultural activities<br />
aimed to enhance young people’s<br />
connection to country and culture<br />
including bush trips, learning about<br />
language, music development,<br />
sport and social networking.<br />
Newsletter for members and volunteers
PAGE 12<br />
<strong>WA</strong> NEWS<br />
Western Australia<br />
celebrates NAIDOC Week<br />
Photo: <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
<strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> was involved in a<br />
wide range of events and<br />
activities across Western<br />
Australia to celebrate NAIDOC<br />
Week. It was a fantastic<br />
week of diverse events to<br />
celebrate the history, culture<br />
and achievements of<br />
Aboriginal and Torres Strait<br />
Islander peoples.<br />
Celebrations commenced in Kwinana,<br />
where the local team held a garden<br />
and art workshop at Medina<br />
Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Despite an<br />
unexpected storm driving the planned<br />
activities indoors, the day was a great<br />
success. Members of the local<br />
community, staff from local agencies,<br />
program participants and their<br />
families enjoyed painting, learning<br />
about and planting vegetable and<br />
herb seedlings, making mosaic tiles<br />
and other art and craft activities.<br />
The Kimberley regional office took<br />
part in NAIDOC celebrations in<br />
Broome, representing <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> at<br />
an event in the shady gardens of<br />
Broome Court House. There was a<br />
showcase of local artwork, children’s<br />
activities, live music and local food.<br />
Later in the week, the team enjoyed<br />
lunch together, to celebrate the<br />
achievements of our many Aboriginal<br />
and Torres Strait Islander staff in<br />
the Kimberley.<br />
At the Goldfields regional office,<br />
NAIDOC celebrations were combined<br />
with the official launch of the <strong>Red</strong><br />
<strong>Cross</strong> Outdoor Learning Centre. This<br />
alternative space for the delivery of<br />
local programs provides a<br />
comfortable, welcoming and<br />
therapeutic space for program<br />
participants to learn healthy lifestyle<br />
and social skills, and take part in<br />
cultural, art and healing activities.<br />
At Western Australia’s <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong><br />
headquarters in East Perth, a big<br />
celebration was held with staff,<br />
volunteers, program participants and<br />
community members. The celebration<br />
started with a ‘Welcome to Country’<br />
and an inspiring performance by the<br />
Kwinana-based dance group, the<br />
Yonga Boys. This was followed by a<br />
Noongar language lesson and bush<br />
tucker tasting. Community Services<br />
teams also represented <strong>Red</strong> <strong>Cross</strong> at<br />
the NAIDOC Week opening ceremony<br />
held in Wellington Square.<br />
The week was a fantastic celebration<br />
of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait<br />
Islander communities across<br />
Western Australia.<br />
Western Australia<br />
110 Goderich Street East Perth <strong>WA</strong> 6004<br />
GPO Box P1239, Perth <strong>WA</strong> 6844<br />
Telephone: (08) 9225 8888<br />
Facsimile: (08) 9325 5112<br />
Email: wainfo@redcross.org.au<br />
National Office<br />
155 Pelham Street Carlton South VIC 3053<br />
PO Box 196 Carlton South VIC 3053<br />
Telephone: (03) 9345 1800<br />
Facsimile: (03) 9348 2513<br />
Email: natinfo@redcross.org.au