People everywhere rely on the support and assistance they receive from the many organisations dedicated to helping and improving the community. From assisting those who are seriously ill to helping keep Australia beautiful, the efforts of these organisations make an extraordinary difference to the lives of all Australians, as well as those in need around the world.
Qantas is a proud supporter of the following organisations:
Australian of the Year Awards
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Awards have recognised outstanding and inspirational Australians who inspire us through their achievements and contributions.
There are four award categories:
- Australian of the Year
- Senior Australian of the Year (60 years and over)
- Young Australian of the Year (16 to 25 years)
- Australia's Local Hero
The list of former recipients is a 'who's who' of Australian achievers including Fred Hollows, Pat Rafter, Sir Gustav Nossal, Fiona Stanley, Slim Dusty, Ian Thorpe and Khoa Do.
Qantas is the Official Airline for the Australian of the Year Awards program.
CanTeen - The Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer
CanTeen is the Australian organisation for young people living with cancer. CanTeen's mission is to support, develop and empower young people living with cancer. We do this primarily by providing an Australia-wide peer support network for 12-24 year olds, including:
- patients - young people who have been diagnosed with cancer,
- siblings and offspring - young people who have an immediate family member who has been diagnosed with cancer, and
- bereaved siblings and offspring - young people who had an immediate family member who died from cancer.
We provide members with a place where they can simply be young people, away from the adult-dominated environment of cancer hospitals and treatment regimes.
Through a wide variety of camps and programs, CanTeen encourages members to share experiences and resources, promote understanding, well-being and leadership, and have fun!
The main event on the CanTeen calender is National Bandanna Day, which will be held on Friday 31 October 2008.
CARE Australia
CARE Australia is the largest non-political, non-religious overseas aid organisation in the country, providing humanitarian assistance across the globe. CARE Australia is part of CARE International, whose programs last year directly improved the lives of 45 million people. Tens of millions more benefited indirectly from their work.
In the battle to overcome poverty, CARE experiences small victories everyday. Whether teaching new farming techniques, training teachers or clearing landmines, CARE works hard to create a lasting solution.
What CARE can achieve today and in the future is very much in your hands.
Qantas has been a partner of CARE Australia since 1988.
Clean Up Australia
Clean Up Australia Day (CUAD) is the nation's largest community based environmental event. Hundreds of thousands of Australians help clean up their local environment each year and as a result, over 200,000 tonnes of waste have been removed from beaches, waterways, roadsides and parklands across the country since 1989.
Qantas has supported Clean Up Australia Day for 10 years.
View the TV commercial
Clean Up the World
Clean Up the World (CUW), established inconjuction with the United Nations Environment Programme in 1993, is the global extension of CUAD. The campaign mobilises over 35 million volunteers from more than 100 countries annually to clean up, fix up and conserve their local environment.
This year, CUW will focus on climate change and invite its community, business and government member organisations around the globe to conduct environmental activities to help address this important issue.
View the TV commercial
Foodbank Australia
Foodbank Australia is the largest non-profit, hunger relief charity in Australia, with warehouses in five capital cities and seven regional centres. Foodbank works in partnership with food industry manufacturers and producers such as Arnott's, Berri, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Coles, Goodman Fielder, Kellogg's, MasterFoods, Nestle, Simplot, Woolworths and many more. Foodbank distribute 6 million kilograms of donated and surplus food each year, to 1500 welfare agencies, which turn it into 7 million meals that feed 20,000 hungry Australians every day.
Qantas is a proud supporter of Foodbank Australia.
International Day of People with a Disability
International Day of People with a Disability on 3 December is an official day declared by the United Nations to celebrate the achievements of people with a disability. The United Nations have chosen "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us" as this year's theme to recognise that dignity and equal rights of all people are the foundations of freedom, justice and peace.
The New South Wales Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care celebrates this day with a month-long campaign called Don't DIS my ABILITY with events held throughout metropolitan and regional areas.
Qantas has been a proud sponsor of Don't DIS my ABILITY for the past two years and was delighted to renew this sponsorship in 2008.
Mission Australia
Mission Australia is one of the country's leading charities and community service organisations. For almost 150 years, Mission Australia has been helping to transform the lives of Australians in need. They have more than 450 services across metropolitan, rural and regional Australia - in every state and territory - and last year helped more than 350,000 people transform their lives.
Mission Australia is committed to eliminating disadvantage and creating a fairer Australia. Through their programs and services, they combat homelessness; assist families and children to develop a safe, nurturing environment; support disadvantaged young people; deliver entry-level training; and help unemployed people find permanent work.
National Australia Day Council
Each year the country celebrates the special achievements and outstanding contributions made by individual Australians through the National Australia Day Council Awards. Recognising leading citizens who are role models for all Australians, the Awards provide inspiration through the achievements of the Australian, Young Australian and Senior Citizen of the Year.
Qantas has supported the National Australia Day Council Awards for more than 10 years.
National Breast Cancer Foundation
Leading the fight for improved prevention and treatment of breast cancer, The National Breast Cancer Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes and supports breast cancer research in all its forms.
In fact, the foundation allocates its fundraising towards breast cancer research spanning 70 different projects across Australia.
Major foundation events include Pink Ribbon Day, the Mothers Day Classic Fun Run and the Pink Ribbon Breakfast, which launches Breast Cancer Month in October every year.
Red Dust Role Models
Red Dust Role Models is a non-profit health promotion charity and deductible gift recipient (DGR) that seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged youths in remote communities.
Red Dust utilizes positive role models from the fields of sport, music, art, health and business to deliver its Lifestyle Education Program. The program encourages healthy lifestyle decisions and promotes education as a path to personal development, employment and readiness for community leadership.
Australian based, but globally focused, Red Dust is driven by a commitment to decrease the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in terms of health, education and opportunities to fulfil human potential. This commitment is maintained in our expansion to remote regions outside of Australia, which currently include India and Fiji.
As a Program Partner of Red Dust, Qantas provides travel support and also engages its employees to participate in community visits.
Starlight Children's Foundation
Living with illness or injury can cause enormous strain in the lives of children and their families. The pain, loneliness and isolation that sick children feel dominates their lives, and they often miss out on normal experiences that healthy children take for granted. Physical recovery is only part of the solution. Starlight delivers programs designed to make children happy and lift their spirits when they need it most.
Since 1988, Starlight has been providing services Australia-wide to help seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families. Starlight programs are delivered both in and out of hospital, providing positive distraction to children in their time of need. Programs include Captain Starlight, Starlight Express Rooms, Starlight Express Vans, Starlight Fun Centre, Starlight Wishgranting, Starlight Escapes, Livewire and Club Ado.
Each year there are over 600,000 child admissions made to hospitals across Australia. Today, Starlight can only reach one in three of these children. Our ultimate goal is to enable each and every child access to Starlight programs.
Starlight Day is the annual fundraising event for Starlight which occurs in May and volunteers from all over the country give up their time to help Starlight raise funds for seriously ill children. Qantas has been a sponsor of the Starlight Children's Foundation for more than 10 years and we are very proud of the contribution made by many Qantas staff who donate their time and energy to sell Starlight Day merchandise, as well as organising additional fundraising activities.
UNICEF
On any one of 5,000 flights each week Qantas staff perform an extra task - collecting donations for UNICEF Change for Good®. Qantas invite their passengers to donate local and foreign currency to help the world's most vulnerable children.
UNICEF and Qantas have been working in partnership since 1991. Since this time UNICEF Change for Good funds have supported thousands of children worldwide, both in emergency situations and through UNICEF projects to ensure the survival, health, education and protection of children.
World Vision Australia
World Vision Australia is part of an international partnership dedicated to improving the lives of children and communities living in poverty. As well as providing relief in emergency situations, World Vision works on long-term development projects that address the causes of poverty and help communities become more self-sufficient.
Money raised by World Vision goes to needy overseas communities in 56 countries, as well as projects in Australia, where it is used to improve the health, education and lives of Indigenous Australians.
Important events for World Vision Australia include the 40-Hour Famine, together with the Youth Study Tour, which enables young Australians to witness World Vision's lifesaving work overseas. Qantas has been the major sponsor of the Youth Study Tour for over 10 years.
