Charlotte Varcoe
COMMUNITY members are encouraged to support SES volunteers through its official website after a Mount Gambier and District volunteer’s uniform and tools were stolen.
Earlier this week, the Mount Gambier and District SES unit took to social media to express disappointment after an empty SES bag was found.
A member of the local unit was staying in the southern suburbs of Adelaide when their car was broken into and the clip bag, which was in the boot of the car, was taken.
Items included the volunteer’s uniform and tools which they had purchased themselves over the years.
Taking to social media, the unit labelled the incident as “disgraceful”.
According to the post, the volunteer had been a part of the local unit for eight years.
Speaking with The Border Watch, SES regional provider for the south region Leanne Schmidt said the incident was not a regular occurrence and it was by chance the car which was broken into belonged to an SES volunteer.
“We are sure it may have happened before but having SES uniforms and rescue kits stolen is not a regular occurrence,” Ms Schmidt said.
“It was purely by chance that there was an SES uniform in the bag.”
She said there were concerns about someone using the uniform to impersonate an SES volunteer and said reasons such as this was also why volunteers were not allowed to donate uniforms to places such as opportunity shops.
“We are always careful about people using uniforms to impersonate a volunteer but we will make sure this volunteer’s uniform is replaces and we also have other means for getting his tools back,” Ms Schmidt said.
“We have touched base with the volunteer who was quite distressed by the event as it is not nice to have your car broken into but its also not nice to have a uniform taken away and everything he has accumulated over the years.
“The Mount Gambier and District SES unit is also quite distressed.”
She said despite the incident, community support for the local SES unit and the volunteer continued to rise with many sharing the message about the lost items and extending support to both the volunteer and the rest of the unit.
“The Mount Gambier and District SES unit is a very tight knit unit and they are quite busy too,” she said.
“They are constantly looking for members from an operational perspective and are calling for people with skills such as business admin, communication and social media or other logistic support areas as well.”
She said despite the disappointment of the incident, its attention has brought the local SES volunteers to front of mind of the community and encouraged those wishing to donate to do so from the official website.
“If people want to provide support for SES volunteers there is a donate button on the SES website and all that money goes to volunteers when they need extra support,” Ms Schmidt said.
“The funds go to volunteers who may be in hardship and provides extra support to them in extenuating circumstances.”
Those wishing to donate or access information regarding volunteering are able to do so through the SES website.
