DoSomething Day: Mosman SES volunteers delight in giving back to the community

THE Mosman SES unit’s 47 active volunteer members come from different backgrounds – but what they all have in common is an unwavering commitment to give back to the local community.

The Mosman SES members with local controller Vanden Helby (left), SES Deputy Commissioner Greg Newton, MP Felicity Wilson and Mosman Mayor Carolyn Corrigan (middle).

• DoSomething Day: Patients on a roll in Randwick
• DoSomething Day: Kambala School gives back

THESE are ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the community.

The 47 active volunteer members in the State Emergency Service’s Mosman unit include retirees, IT specialists, lawyers, a mortgage broker and a police officer.

They come from different backgrounds – but what they all have in common is an unwavering commitment to give back to the Mosman community in its hour of need, mostly when storm and flood events occur.

Eighteen of the unit’s Orange Angels alone have contributed a remarkable 165 years of service to the community.

Recent 15-year award recipients Melissa Lee (left), Mosman SES Local Controller Vanden Helby (third from left) and Janet Fish (far right) with SES Deputy Commissioner Greg Newton, Mosman Mayor Carolyn Corrigan and North Sydney MP Felicity Wilson.

And today, it is these wonderful people that we recognise and thank on DoSomething Day. An initiative of the DoSomething Foundation, NewsLocal and Your Local Club, it celebrates the volunteers in our community and those spreading kindness.

For Janet Fish, who has just received her 15-year service award, volunteering for the Mosman SES unit keeps her engaged with other locals.

“I volunteer with several other organisations and find that it is a good way to meet people and help the community,” she said.

Vanden Helby, who joined the SES to learn how to use a chainsaw, is another to have recently racked up 15 years of service. By day he is a policeman and by night he is unit controller.

“It doesn’t matter what your background is. It is all about your attitude and willingness to make a difference, no matter what that is,” he said.

Mosman SES unit members (Back row, from left): Carolyn Kirby, Matt McInnes, Robert MacMahon, Felix Nicholson, Andy Cowin, Lachlan Flick, Diana McKay, Vanden Helby, Phillip Titterton, Phillip Cleary and Pragash Santi. Front row: Yoko Tsunoda, Harriet Virgona, Melissa Carroll, Nichola Cassar, Michael Hennessey and Janet Fish.

Mortgage broker Pragash Santi simply joined the SES a decade ago to give something back to the local community.

“You have the opportunity to learn skills that are useful in everyday life,” he said.

Jamie Scott saw volunteering for the SES as a great way to learn new skills in helping the community. And he jokingly said: “Getting out in the wind and rain reminds me of home back in the UK.”

The SES’ major responsibilities are for flood and storm emergencies. They also provide the majority of general rescue efforts – offering assistance searching for lost and missing persons, road accident and vertical rescues, and community-first responses.

Volunteer roles include assisting communities affected by severe storms and floods, undertaking temporary repairs to damaged properties, removing trees from buildings or blocked roads, and helping emergency service units such as the police, Rural Fire Service and ambulance.

For more information on volunteering with the SES, call 132 500 or visit ses.nsw.gov.au

THE GOOD DEED FEED: