A Loddon Mallee Ambulance Victoria first responder has reached a significant milestone.
Kirsten Wright, a community emergency response team volunteer in Tongala, is being celebrated for attending over 100 cases.
The Tongala CERT tracks the number of cases its members attend, and team leader Anne Church said her daughter and fellow volunteer reached the milestone in December 2023.
Ms Wright said the milestone was extra special as it was reached working alongside her mum.
“It’s a nice feeling to say I’m doing it for not only the community but also supporting my mum in something that she loves,” she said.
“Some of the highlights of being involved in the CERT have been attending community events with my mum, like laying wreaths for Anzac Day.”
CERTs are made up of volunteer first responders located in less populated and more remote areas of the state. They work on-call and are dispatched in pairs at the same time as an ambulance.
Ms Wright said she was motivated to give back to the community.
“That’s the spirit that my parents have taught me, and it’s really important because Tongala is the town I grew up in,” she said.
“Some of the people I’ve cared for have been people that I’ve grown up with, and it’s really nice to be able to assist them in their time of need.
“Of my 100 cases, some of them have been very simple and some have been really full-on, but each one, you’re just making sure you’re reassuring people that you’re there for them.”
Her mother, Ms Church, was a founding member of the Tongala CERT almost 17 years ago and sais she loved working alongside her daughter.
“I’m really proud of Kirsten for getting to 100 callouts,” she said.
“She initially joined the CERT to support me in getting to 1000 cases, and I’m very thankful to her for that.
“Not many people get to work with their kids once they’re adults, and it’s just great working and being with her.”