Commonwealth Bank today announced that it will be accepting donations at all branches across Australia for the Red Cross appeal to support relief efforts in Vanuatu following the devastation of Cyclone Pam.

To kick start the donations, Commonwealth Bank will also be making a A$50,000 donation to the Red Cross appeal.

“Our heart goes out to the people of Vanuatu who have suffered so much loss and devastation caused by Cyclone Pam.  We would like to do what we can to support the Vanuatu community at this time and also help to make it easy for our customers to support the Red Cross appeal,” Mr Andrew Hall, Executive General Manager, Corporate Affairs said.

The funds raised by the Red Cross appeal will help provide humanitarian support to people and communities affected by Cyclone Pam, including:

• emergency relief and recovery assistance to affected communities, displaced people and host families in Vanuatu,
• water and sanitation, shelter and health initiatives in affected areas,
• sending specialist aid workers to assist in initial assessments, relief, recovery and longer-term disaster management operations.