Without Volunteers, nothing happens. Can you spare some time?
Without local volunteers, Fires don’t get fought, Ambulances are absent, the op-shop closes, and our Community Committees collapse. Why? Because there is no ‘Somebody Else’ prepared to give back to the community in which we live.
Gippsland’s ABC has the story.
Worker shortages across the region have extended to Gippsland’s volunteer army, with emergency services, tourism operators and community groups now actively seeking new volunteers.
Pandemic disruptions, changing protocols, time constraints, burnout, community fragmentation, and an aging volunteer workforce are just some of the reasons for the drop off in Gippsland’s army of community volunteers.
With one of the largest areas in Victoria to defend, the Erica Fire Brigade has been lucky to recruit some new members.
“We have to do a lot of training, so one of the things we’re involved with is learning more and keeping up with all the new technology- that’s been a bit of a challenge for a lot of us old guys which is why we need some new fresh members”, says volunteer Simon Seear.
Ambulance Victoria are also seeking trained volunteer Community Emergency Response Team members to act as ‘first responders’ to ease pressure on Ambulance resources and response times in remote and rural areas.
“We’re trying to establish an ambulance community officer branch in Rawson which involve members of the community volunteering their time to respond to emergencies when an ambulance many be half an hour or more away”, says Riley Taylor an Ambulance Community Officer with Ambulance Victoria.
The volunteer shortage also extends to community heritage and tourism organisations such as the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, hit hard by the pandemic.
“Apart from floods and fire and pestilence, we’ve managed to keep running – we certainly don’t give up!”, says Walhalla Goldfields Railway secretary Graham Skinner, who has been observing a steady stream of tourists visiting the town over the summer holidays.
“We welcome volunteers from 16 years through to elderly. We’ve created a new position for conductors, they can start at 16, they cant become a guard till their 18, but it’s just a way to get people in the door, get young kids interested because we really desperately need volunteers, he says.
With volunteers providing the logistical back bone of everything from festivals, to sporting clubs, museums, clubs, cultural activities, surf life saving, welfare and emergency services, the quality of community life in the region depends heavily on volunteers.
It is hoped that an increasing population of tree and sea changers moving to Gippsland seeking social connection may spark renewed interest in volunteering despite the challenging times.
Is your Gippsland community group or organisation seeking volunteers?
(Picture: local CFA Members ready to explain how anybody can help when needed.)
