During one of the high tea events with high school students. Photos: Supplied.
Dapto Red Cross began in the early days of World War I, when a group of ladies rallied with children from Dapto schools to knit socks for soldiers and donate eggs to the cause, despite having little themselves.
Now, 102 years on, the branch continues that legacy of community connection, earning the prestigious Australian Red Cross Distinguished Team Award for its innovative approach to engagement, particularly with young people.
Dapto Red Cross president Jan Craig said it was recognised for initiatives such as knitting trauma teddies for children in hospital, rebuilding partnerships with Dapto RSL and even a dog biscuit project.
However, what stood out was a collaboration with Dapto High School during the past two years to engage students and teachers in high tea and fashion events that not only raised funds but also fostered intergenerational ties.
“It’s a national award, and we were chosen because of our ability to get the community involved, especially getting younger people involved in what we’re doing with Red Cross,” Jan said.
“Instead of just sitting there doing a cake stall, we have Year 12 students at Dapto High help when we have our big functions like the fashion parade, which last time had 96 guests.”
She said branch members baked, while students put out the food, waited on tables, and cleaned up.
“The interaction between the two groups is brilliant to watch,” she said.
“One little girl said to me, ‘I met someone who came from the town I came from, and I sat and spoke to her for an hour’.
“She then looked at me like she was going to be in trouble for doing it.
“I said to her, ‘That’s the best thing you could have done. That lady will never forget you. You will never forget her’.
“That’s more important than putting scones with jam and cream on some table.”
During the fashion event.
Jan said it was not only a chance to make the Dapto branch more visible and relevant, but also showed they weren’t a “bunch of reserved old ladies anymore”.
She said the McGrath Foundation fashion event highlighted important causes such as breast cancer awareness, even featuring male models to challenge perceptions about the disease only targeting females.
“We had some male models from the RSL. We sang It’s Raining Men when they first came out, which added a bit of class,” she said, laughing.
“We all had our ugly pink wigs on.
“One of the models said to me, ‘My stepfather had breast cancer. I could see the skin was wrong under his arm and I asked had he been to the doctor. He said, ‘I’m a coal miner and I’m a man. Men don’t get breast cancer. He died a few months later.’”
Jan encouraged him to share his story, resulting in 96 ladies and 20 students and teachers in tears.
“I thought if it connects with one person, then the day has been a success,” she said.
Jan said their modern approach centred on bridging generational gaps.
“It’s about bringing community into what we do, by taking that extra step where other groups haven’t even thought of doing that,” she said.
The branch now sells dog biscuits, coats and bandanas at Bunnings Kembla Grange.
Their dog biscuit initiative came after witnessing dog owners bypassing their cakes at Bunnings Kembla Grange, so they asked permission to make and sell homemade dog biscuits instead.
Eight months later they have repeat customers, and have introduced dog coats and bandanas.
“We’re going from cake stalls and looking into different fields and including the public more, like the school,” she said.
“That’s something that isn’t being done with any of the other branches.”
She said the connection with Dapto schools dated back to its beginnings, shortly after World War I, when Lady Helen Munro Ferguson — wife of Australia’s newly appointed Governor-General, Ronald Munro Ferguson — was tasked with establishing Red Cross clubs.
“To think Lady Helen has just touched her little feet into Sydney, gets a cable from the old girl from the Red Cross in London, and is asked if she can form a club out here to help with the war effort,” she said.
“Then having to send cables out to all the councils and Dapto, which would have only been farms and nobody would have been well off.
“And to think of the children bringing an egg to school – can you imagine if we tried that these days?”
There were 2000 eggs donated during a dedicated “Egg Day”, along with schools and the branch donating garments, knitted socks and funds.
“I was reading about the socks that were knitted,” she said.
“There was over 1.6 million pairs of socks knitted but the condition of some of them wasn’t real crash hot.”
She said key to the branch’s longevity was collaborations, while moving forward it was introducing new members to continue supporting national and international causes.
Dapto Red Cross meets at the Dapto Leagues Club and those interested can contact Jan on 0416 023 653.
