Charlotte Varcoe
MOUNT Gambier St John SA volunteers are encouraging local community members to get involved with the charity organisation.
The organisation received about five applications for volunteers during their showcase at the Mount Gambier Show with volunteer support officer Kyle Burton labelling the result as fantastic.
Mr Burton said volunteers would love to come back to the show next year and continue informing the community on available options the service provides.
“We would continue to teach the community about life saving skills and continue the community involvement,” Mr Burton said.
“We are still calling for volunteers as we are experiencing a shortage at the moment within the Mount Gambier region and we hope to achieve this so we can continue to provide support in the future.”
He said volunteers would have the opportunity to attend events and provide medical support and information for said events.
“We also provide first aid courses at schools and support emergency services during natural disasters such as bushfires,” he said.
“Alongside this, we run a youth program for those aged between 11-17 years old which is now available in Mount Gambier.”
Currently, the local branch has about 10 volunteers.
“Volunteers are able to support and help the community and have the skills and knowledge to do something in the case of an emergency,” Mr Burton said.
“This also includes the skills to save lives and provide accredited training in different areas – which further allows entrance into the workforce and leadership training and support.”
Mr Burton also commented on the social benefits of the organisation, stating many volunteers end up becoming great friends.
“We know people are very time poor these days and so when we go to the community we are also able to show them all the interesting and eventful opportunities we supply,” he said.
“Once people give it a go at community events it gains their interest and also ensures they understand it is not a massive commitment either.
“We don’t ask them to come along every weekend and only ask for a small commitment and through that we then supply them with awesome skills.”
According to the officer, volunteers are able to complete their training at a level they are comfortable with which then eliminates the feeling of being overwhelmed.
“We also support the state emergency services which allows us to provide medical support during natural disasters such as bushfires,” Mr Burton said.
“This includes providing medical support to firefighters which is most common for us.
“We normally set up a staging post and will provide that medical support to the people fighting the bushfires which includes burns as well as a lot of eye washes.”
Those interested in volunteering are able to find more information on the St Johns SA website.
