Greetings to our many friends and supporters.Welcome to our July issue of The Red Feather, the  RCA Newsletter. In this issue, we feature articles about volunteers and volunteering, news from Raphael and Klibur Domin, as well as Ryder-Cheshire happenings in Australia, New Zealand and Russia, and celebrate the wonderful work our homes and volunteers do ‘for the relief of suffering without discrimination.’   Maintaining and increasing our financial support for our international homes, Raphael and Klibur Domin, remain our number one priority. It is pleasing to note that, like the 2024 Christmas Appeal, the recent End-of-Year Financial Appeal led to an increase in the overall number of individual donors. Unfortunately, the average amount donated has declined, possibly reflecting broader economic conditions. Fortunately, this has been offset by an increase in investment returns achieved on our corpus. To all those who have given, a big thank you for your generosity.  I recently learned that several larger organisations and businesses offer payday giving to their staff. This enables employees to donate to a wide range of charities and nonprofits with the employing company often matching the donation. Ryder-Cheshire has DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) tax status making it eligible as a recipient for such schemes. Please encourage your family members and friends to inquire at their workplaces to see if these programs are available or if their employer would be interested in participating. I am happy to assist and answer any queries. Of course, RCA’s role extends beyond providing financial support, and I encourage you all to get the word out about the joy and fulfilment gained by volunteering at either the homes or with RCA’s various committees. Read about the stories of some of these volunteers in this issue. At the recent AGM held in May, RCA members elected two new Directors who bring a wealth of skill and experience in health and international volunteering. Patricia McDonell is well known to many in the Ryder-Cheshire family, having previously volunteered in a variety of national administrative roles and is currently visiting Klibur Domin. Patricia has joined the RCA International Committee as Klibur Domin Project Co-ordinator. The International Committee is chaired by Siobhan Reeves, who was elected as a Director last year.  Lyn Carman was elected this year. Lyn has also joined the Board’s International Committee. She has extensive business and healthcare experience, having also worked closely with Dr John Denton during his many visits to Klibur Domin, where they supported the dental health program. Lyn has also joined the Media and Communications Committee. The other continuing Directors are – Dr Mike Moignard who chairs the RCA Secretariat and oversees donor administration, Dianne McGrath OAM who chairs the Media and Communications Committee, and me who  chairs the Finance & Legal Committee.  Susie Mackerras was co-opted by the RCA Board at our June Meeting. She is on the International Committee and is the Co-ordinator of Volunteers for both Raphael and Klibur Domin, and is the Raphael Project Coordinator. We are also ably supported by Peter Colliver OAM, who retired as a Director, but continues as RCA’s National Treasurer and Public Officer.  I am pleased to announce that Carolyn Byrnes from the Ballarat Ryder-Cheshire Support Group, has agreed to assume the responsibilities of RCA Board Secretary. Philip Kennon KC has agreed to join the Finance and Legal Committee to assist us in overseeing the management of our investment corpus that now generates some 60% of all the funding we send to our international homes. Our RCA team is growing and constantly renewing. It gives me much confidence that RCA will remain strong for the two international homes we support for many more decades.