Each year our volunteers give hundreds of hours of their time to help people in crisis, not only in our local community but right around the world.

I am also constantly humbled by the generous public support we receive for our everyday work.

Your regular donations to Red Cross help provide a healthy breakfast for kids who might otherwise go to school hungry, allow us to make a phone call every day to check that elderly or isolated people are OK, and help ensure remote communities in the Asia-Pacific have access to clean drinking water.

We also work in communities to help vulnerable families cope with the pressures of life, build pathways out of homelessness and work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Despite our best efforts however, there are always new families that need our help each year, new communities that find themselves in crisis, and a growing number of lonely, elderly people who find themselves cut off from friends and family.

At this time of the year, when the generosity of all Australians shines through I would like to urge everyone to put a little something aside for people and families in crisis.

To give to the Red Cross Festive Appeal go to redcross.org.au or phone 1800 811 700.

Your tax-deductible gift to the Red Cross Festive Appeal in our centenary year will make a real difference.

Call 1800 811 700 or visit redcross.org.au