Australian Red Cross

The Australian Red Cross was established in 1914, nine days after the commencement of World War I, by Lady Helen Munro-Ferguson, the wife of the Governor-General Ronald Munro-Ferguson, when she formed a branch of the British Red Cross.

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The organisation grew at a rapid rate. Lady Helen wrote to the mayors of every shire and municipality in Australia asking them to initiate a local branch. Few failed to act on her suggestion. Typically, a letter was published in the local newspaper and a meeting called. By November 1914, New South Wales had 88 city or suburban branches and 249 country branches, all established within the previous four months. The Society was accepted by the community from the beginning. Much of the World War I home front activities such as knitting socks and rolling bandages was done by local Red Cross branches.

The passion and commitment of the volunteers has become renowned in all communities as they rise to every natural disaster or personal crisis they have come across and been faced with, from fire to flood or drought. Today there are more than 30,000 trained volunteers and the entire Australian Red Cross program is funded by public donations and corporate partnerships. For the volunteers it is a 24 hours, 7 days a week commitment to help families whose lives have been touched by disaster and tragedy.

The Australian Red Cross supports and runs many different and important projects whilst raising awareness to the Australian public about the current issues or problems which may affect them. Some of the projects which are either run by or assisted by the Australian Red Cross are Blood Services, First Aid projects, Disaster and Emergency Services, Youth and Education.

The Mission of the Australian Red Cross is as follows: "To be a leading humanitarian organisation in Australia, improving the lives of vulnerable people through services delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values."

The Australian Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the largest humanitarian movement in the world. The movement comprises over 97 million volunteers worldwide and prides itself on being free of government influence and without political, religious or cultural bias.