Community
27 December, 2024
‘Dash’ of festive cheer
QANTAS and the Red Cross have joined forces to bring some festive cheer to Mossman State School students and families who were hit by flash flooding after Cyclone Jasper a year ago.
About 350 gifts donated by Qantas staff were delivered via a ‘Dash-er’ 8 Q400 aircraft which touched down at Cairns Airport last week.
It was welcome comfort for the children, some of whom lost everything while some also lost their homes and their family businesses.
The aircraft painted in special Christmas livery was met by representatives of the school, local community members and Red Cross volunteers who took delivery of the presents donated by Qantas employees from Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.
The donated presents included stationery kits, action figures, books, boardgames, Lego and soft toys, as well as Australian Red Cross ‘trauma teddies, hand-knitted by Australian Red Cross members and volunteers.
Setting off in a Christmas convoy, Australian Red Cross staff, volunteers and Qantas staff delivered the gifts to Mossman State School as part of a community preparedness day.
School principal Randal Smith said the donation of presents was helping make Christmas even more special for a community that was struck by devastation 12 months ago.
“Last week marked one year since ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper devastated our community and we’re still recovering from it,” he said.
“On behalf of the entire school, we’re incredibly grateful to Australian Red Cross and Qantas for this donation.
“With Christmas a few sleeps away, these gifts are an incredible reminder to our community that they aren’t alone, and that there are people thinking of them this festive season.”
QantasLink head of cabin crew and customer experience Roslyn Colagrossi travelled with the team on ‘Dash-er 8’ and said the airline was proud to demonstrate how its partnership with Australian Red Cross can support communities before, during and after a crisis.
“It was great to see the Qantas team throw their support behind this year’s annual gift drive and fly in some Christmas cheer to help Mossman families continue their journey of recovery as they rebuild after last year’s destruction.”
Australian Red Cross disaster resilience and recovery national director Collin Sivalingum said 12 months on, Australian Red Cross was still in the community providing vital recovery support with dedicated volunteers.
“We’re thankful to Qantas for their support in bringing an extra special moment of joy to the Mossman community at this time of year,” he said.
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