As 2013 drew to a close, Australian Red Cross prepared to celebrate our biggest milestone to date – our Centenary: 100 years of people helping people.

Many Red Cross members, volunteers, supporters and staff have been working hard, reaching out to their communities and preparing to mark our Centenary. The aims for our centenary celebrations were to thank and recognise generations of Australians for their support, showcase the work we do today and engage a new generation of supporters for the future.

We began by launching the centenary digital hub, a unique website that invites generations of Australians to share stories of their personal connection to Red Cross. The digital hub has proved to be an innovative and collaborative way to personalise our 100-year history, uncovering a rich account of the work we do every day and our impact on the lives of many Australians. We are anticipating there will be more than 1,000 stories on the digital hub by the end of 2014. You can read some of the stories or share your own experiences at redcross.org.au/centenary.

Our centenary year offered many exciting opportunities for us to engage with communities and organisations that were eager to recognise Red Cross in this special year, and provide us with the opportunity to engage more supporters for the future. On World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, 8 May 2014, Australia Post launched a commemorative stamp in recognition of our significant contribution to Australian society. Similarly, Perth Mint released a commemorative silver coin and a bronze-aluminium coin. The coins and stamp are available as mementoes for all our supporters, and have helped raise awareness amongst the general public of our everyday work and our history of service to the nation.

Our members and volunteers held hundreds of events across the country to celebrate our Centenary in their local communities. These activities generated positive publicity and goodwill across Australia and included the publication of thousands of complimentary media stories.

We released a broad range of centenary merchandise, including a T-shirt, apron and tea towel, which showcased our historic posters and iconic images from the past 100 years. The merchandise range was warmly received by our members, volunteers, supporters and staff. The merchandise range, which is still available, has proved a fun way of encouraging a new generation to own a little piece of our history.

These celebrations were all building to the peak event in our centenary calendar: 13 August 2014, when Red Cross people from all around the country gathered to mark 100 years to the day that Red Cross was formed in Australia.