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Building understanding

During a year in which disasters dominated the headlines, it was particularly important to explain to the public how we work and how we spend donations.

We gave more than 400 broadcast interviews on a range of topics - from the Asian earthquake to our road safety campaign.

Actor Christopher Eccleston in Aceh in IndonesiaWe gained record media coverage for our response to the tsunami, enabling us to explain better to the public how we used their gifts to help communities recover.

One highlight was when actor Christopher Eccleston travelled to Aceh in Indonesia, to report on our work for BBC Breakfast. Our high profile work in other emergency situations was widely reported too.

It is impossible to understand what has happened to these people. Their bravery, courage and defiance are very humbling. The most important thing about the Red Cross’ approach is that they are consulting the community
Actor Christopher Eccleston, reporting from Aceh in Indonesia

We also launched an ambassador scheme, with six celebrity ambassadors, including presenter Konnie Huq and actor Dougray Scott. This helped raise our profile by matching the interests of our ambassadors with suitable projects.

Influencing public policy


We are also working harder to influence opinion formers in areas that will benefit vulnerable people. In 2005, we launched a newsletter for Parliamentarians and used our practical experience to influence public policy in key areas.

In May, more than 30 MPs attended a briefing in Westminster, to mark the launch of our road safety campaign. We then encouraged more than 5,000 people to send postcards to their local MP, asking them to include first aid education for new drivers in the new Road Safety Bill.

As a result, more than 150 MPs have backed our campaign. We are now working with the Government to include more first aid in the theory section of the driving test, to enable more people to save lives on our roads.

Motivating supporters


We recognise that, for people to engage with us, we have to be distinctive and inspiring wherever we come into contact with them. Our bold modern look started to be applied to all our marketing and communications materials, while relaunching our website was another big step forward.

The site was completely redesigned to reflect the new look. It is more popular than ever, with an average of 200,000 visits every month. It is also an increasingly popular way for people to support our work. More than £3.25 million was donated online in 2005.
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© British Red Cross 2010
British Red Cross, UK Office, 44 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AL Phone: 0844 871 11 11. Fax: 020 7562 2000.

The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949) and Scotland (SC037738).