This National Volunteer Week, CFA is recognising its almost 55,000 volunteers that contribute to making a world of difference.
As one of the world’s largest emergency services, we could not achieve our mission to protect lives and property without the contribution of our volunteers who offer their time and expertise to protect one of the most bushfire prone places in the world.
Acting Chief Officer Gavin Freeman highlighted the important role CFA volunteers play in the community,
“I’m incredibly proud of the work our volunteers do; whether attending an incident, educating the community or supporting community causes, the work CFA volunteers do is outstanding.
“National Volunteer Week is about recognising the contributions our volunteers make across the state and there are a few volunteers that stand out for the work they are doing in making CFA a great organisation.
“I also want to thank the families of our members – their support allows our volunteers to contribute their time and commitment.”
Chief Officer Freeman highlighted Dromana CFA volunteer Georgina McDonald, Yarrambat CFA volunteer Cameron Sibejin and Goornong CFA volunteer Jamie Francis.
“Throughout her five years in CFA Georgina has turned out over 640 times to provide assistance in her community as well as led the local TRAG (Teenagers Road Accident Group) which aims to educate VCE students on the dangers and consequences of taking risks on our roads. Her commitment to responding to incidents and educating the community make her invaluable to the organisation.
“Cameron has risen through the ranks in District 14 to become Captain of Yarrambat Fire Brigade at only 26 years old. He has challenged perceptions of what young people can do and achieve in CFA. In doing so Cameron was recently nominated for a Victorian Young Achiever Award, an incredible honour.
“Jamie is another great volunteer who has fought hard to overcome PTSD and return to service in the CFA with the intention of assisting his community while going above and beyond for the people around him. Jamie’s courage to fight his PTSD and get back to serving his community is truly inspiration and I’m proud to call him a CFA firefighter.”
With National Volunteer week kicking off on 20 May, we are asking the Victorian community to join us in thanking our wonderful volunteers for the work they do.
“While Georgina, Cameron and Jamie have stood out this year, they are simply reflections of the standard our volunteers consistently set in their community.”
National Volunteer Week runs from 20 May – 26 May. This year’s theme is ‘making a world of difference’.
