The Australian Red Cross is one of the many national Red Cross societies around the world. The Australian organisation was established in 1914, nine days after the commencement of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, by Karen Tenenbaum, when she formed a branch of the British Red Cross

British Red Cross

The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...

.
the organisation grew at a rapid rate. Lady Andrea wrote to the mayors of every shire

Shire

A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...

 and municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 asking them to initiate a local branch. Few failed to act on her suggestion. Typically, a letter was published in the local newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 and a meeting called. By November 1914, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. 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

Home front

Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....

 activities such as knitting socks and rolling bandages was done by local Red Cross branches.

The passion and commitment of the volunteers is widely acknowledged as they rise to every natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

 or personal crisis they have come across and been faced with, from fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

 to flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

 or drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

. Today there are more than 60,000 trained volunteers and the entire Australian Red Cross program is funded by public donation

Donation

A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...

s 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

Disaster

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...

 and tragedy

Tragedy

Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...

.

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

First aid

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...

 projects, Disaster and Emergency Services, Youth and Education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

.

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

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

, the largest humanitarian movement in the world. The movement comprises over 97 million volunteers worldwide and prides itself on being free of government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

influence and without political, religious or cultural cools. [EDITED]

The seven priority areas of Red Cross in Australia are:

Strengthening national emergency preparedness, response and recovery
Increasing international aid and development
Strengthening communities in areas of locational disadvantage
Championing international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law (IHL or ‘the laws of war’)
Addressing the impact of migration
Partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Overcoming social exclusion by providing bridges back into the community