The new initiative, ‘Volunteering Reimagined’, has been launched and allows more flexibility as well as different options for people to get involved with the Service.

Moruya SES visited Potato Point on Thursday, February 15 to introduce Community Action Teams (CATs).

CATs are a flexible volunteering arrangement where volunteers provide a communication link between a particular community and the Moruya SES Unit.

CAT members would be part of the SES, but with limited responsibilities.

As a result, they need minimal training, and need not attend regular Unit meetings.

NSW SES Moruya Unit Controller Jeff McMahon said this new program taps into the wide range of skills within the local community.

The Moruya Unit has 30 members and covers an area from Mogo to Akalele. 

“The purpose of ‘Volunteering Reimagined’ is to broaden the capability of the NSW SES in the Eurobodalla and provide more opportunities for people to join us,” Mr McMahon said.

“More people are wanting to help their communities, but often feel they can’t because they are time-poor or believe they do not have the physical capabilities to do some of the emergency tasks that the NSW SES often responds to.

“As part of this new initiative we have introduced three new categories of volunteering. These are Community Action Team (CAT) members, corporate volunteers and spontaneous volunteers,” Mr McMahon said.

“CAT members will be a group of people or individuals who join a designated Community Action Team and can be tied to a geographical area or a specific functional role.

“Spontaneous volunteers will be those individuals who provide assistance to the NSW SES in a temporary way, usually in response to large disasters, while corporate volunteers will be employees of companies that have partnered with our organisation and the employer will provide volunteer leave for their workers to contribute to the NSW SES.

“We’ve also made changes to our existing volunteer membership policies to allow greater flexibility in how these members volunteer their time with us.

“With the storm season upon us, there has never been a better time to volunteer with the NSW SES. Whatever your background, location and skill-set, there is a place for you to join us.”

For more information about volunteering with the NSW SES visit: www.ses.nsw.gov.au  or the Moruya SES Facebook page.

Or, feel free to contact Jeff McMahon on 0427285621, Chris Zammit on 0458737133 or Lloyd Jones on 0400493663.