Land Rover Australia Supports Australian Red Cross to Help Those in Need

The Australian arms of Land Rover and Red Cross have been working closely together on a multi-tiered support program to reach Australians affected by natural disasters or other emergency assistance requirements.<br><br>

Since 2010, Land Rover Australia has supplied the Victorian Disaster & Emergency Services team with a fleet of vehicles which has been instrumental in the rural recovery projects for the locust plague and the Victorian flood disaster. The vehicles have been used in the personal support outreach program, visiting people in their homes to listen to their stories and provide them with the support they require to get their lives back to normal.<br><br>

Red Cross personal support teams have used <a href="http://www.landrover.com/au/en/lr/">Land Rover vehicles</a> to visit Paul and his wife Sharon on their rural property in Kerang a number of times since it was flooded in January this year. Paul and Sharon had recently moved in and hadn't been able to arrange insurance before the flood waters inundated their home and land. The house suffered structural damage, most of the contents were destroyed and livestock killed. After the floods they had to move into a caravan on their property and were very concerned about their future. Red Cross staff and volunteers provided personal support and referred Paul and Sharon on for housing assistance and help with cleaning up their house and farm, grant information and other personal support.<br><br>

The second component of Land Rover Australia's support of Red Cross is the Single Incident Emergency Assistance (SIEA) program. This program provides immediate emergency assistance to any person, family or individual whose homes and/or possessions have been destroyed or severely damaged by an incident such as a house fire, localised flooding, windstorm, explosion or other disasters affecting single households.<br><br> 

Land Rover is supporting Red Cross to help up to 35 individuals or families each year through this program. These people receive basic necessities for immediate survival in the two to three days following the incident. Assistance provided includes accommodation, clothing, bedding, food and water.<br><br>

Land Rover’s relationship with the Red Cross began in 1954 when Land Rover supplied a Series 1 <a href="http://www.landrover.com/au/en/lr/defender/">Defender</a> to the British Red Cross in Dubai as a mobile dispensary.  Now Land Rover Global supports two extensive Red Cross community programmes in China and Sierra Leone, and provides additional support for Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes in 15 countries worldwide.<br><br>