NSW SES Volunteers Association Store

President's Newsletter August 2015

by | July 8, 2016
President's Newsletter August 2015

It seems that the months are flying past at a rapid rate, and the Festive Season will be upon us before we realise it! August has been a good month for the Volunteers Association, with a myriad of projects being run and finalised. 

We have worked with members from a number of Sydney based units on getting some video footage for use in future projects as well as liasing with Unit Controllers on a fuel card program to help support some of our members that may need a hand. 

We are also working with students from General Assembly to look at new designs for our website and our office has been busy processing scholarships and grant applications for the 2015 Funding Schemes. 

I look forward to being able to announce the successful applicants in the next edition of the President's Newsletter! 

Welcome to Cheryl! Goodchild - Mid North Coast region Representative

With a passion for volunteering, Cheryl has been a member of the NSW SES Volunteers Association since starting with the NSW SES at Nabiac Unit and later transferring to Taree Unit in 2013. During this time Cheryl has completed many courses and with a love of helping young people succeed has been deeply involved with the Cadet program. Cheryl looks forward to representing the members of the Mid North Coast Region and can be contacted at midnorthcoast@nswsesva.org.au 

Unit Grants and Scholarships

Unit Grants and Scholarships have now closed for our 2015 round. Thank you to all those volunteers who applied for funding for various projects throughout the state. The office received an overwhelming amount of applications and these are currently being reviewed by each Zone Council. We anticipate that we will be in contact with all applicants soon to inform each of you on the outcome of the applications. We appreciate your patience throughout this process and wish you the best of luck! 

Fuel Cards

Our fuel card program has been completed with 122 Caltex cards distributed to members throughout the state to acknowledge the great work that you do in supporting your communities. 

Welfare Fund

The NSW State Emergency Service Volunteers Association Welfare Fund was established in June 2011. The primary objective of the Welfare Fund is to provide financial assistance to volunteer members of the NSW State Emergency Service and members of the NSW State Emergency Service Volunteers Association or their dependents as a result of long term illness and or extreme hardship. 

The welfare fund committee considers all applications confidentially. Further information is available from your Region Representative. 

Valuing Volunteers Study

Bill Calcutt is a member of the Manly Unit and a Phd Researcher at the University of Wollongong. 

All NSW SES volunteers are invited to complete an anonymous survey on their values as part of an independent study being undertaken by University of Wollongong researchers. Called Valuing Volunteers, the study is seeking to establish the dominant and shared values of the NSW SES volunteer workforce, and to explore to what degree volunteers' values align with the core values of the NSW SES organisation. Paper copies of the survey will be widely distributed and the survey can also be completed online by following this link. 

Fleet program Update

The Fleet Project team has completed delivery of 13 Medium Storm Vehicles. Each vehicle was stowed according to a standardised equipment layout developed by the Vehicle Design Group. 

Key design features of the trucks include a Teklite light mast, roller shutters, sliding shadow boards, PTO driven hydraulic generator, ergonomic ladder rack, slide and tilt shelves, custom made protection bar fitted with winch and driving lights. 

Volunteer memorial service

Sunday 11 October 2015 at 11:00a.m. at The Domain (near Mrs Macquarie's Chair) Sydney. 'Uniform of the day' options are: 

  • Orange 2-piece field uniform with SES 'baseball-style' cap, and full-size decorations (medals, citations etc). 
  • 'Blues' - long-sleeve shirt, tie, SES Official Cap or SES 'baseball-style' cap, and full-size decorations (medals, citations etc). 
  • 'Blues' - Tunic, tie, SES Official Uniform Cap, and full-size decorations (medals, citations etc). 

Personnel in uniform and with headwear will be expected to salute at various times, e.g. National Anthem, lowering of flags, etc (all are announced by the MC). 

Attendees will have an opportunity to place a smal floral tribute (provided free of charge) on the memorial. 

Light refreshments will be provided after the ceremony. 

Parking is at a premium, so plan to arrive early if coming by vehicle and 'pool' where possible. 

Save the date

The 2016 Volunteers Association Conference will be held on Saturday 8 October 2016, to coincide with the Volunteers Memorial Service held in the Domain each year. The planning team is currently searching for a suitable location to host the conference, the gala dinner and a member focused theme. 


TOP