Volunteering is one of the best ways a person can give back to their community.
More often than not, the volunteer gets as much from the experience as the organisation and people they help.
On June 5, the Australian Red Cross is hosting a volunteer information session at Benalla’s Senior Citizens Centre, 18 Fawckner Dve, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
It’s an opportunity for local people to find out all the wonderful things the Red Cross does, and how they can help out.
Judi Hanlon is a current volunteer, and recommends it to anyone who might have some spare time.
“There is a few different ways people can volunteer with the Red Cross,” Ms Hanlon said.
“I volunteer in two areas, the main one being with the Emergency Response Team.
“We get called out if ever there is a major emergency, an example being the 2019/20 fires.
“When COVID hit, we did hundreds of food delivery packages to people who were isolated.
“Then we had the floods in 2022 and were hard at work again.”
Ms Hanlon said the work didn’t stop when the emergency did.
“We’ve been out in the Shepparton area this week helping out with people still affected by that flooding.
“We also do a lot of preparation prior to an emergency as well.
“We might talk to community groups about how to be prepared.
“Primary schools are another place we visit. We run a ‘pillow case’ program where we talk to eight- to 10-year-olds about how they would cope in an emergency.
“That’s a nice project, and kids that age are a great audience. They get a pillow case to take home with them to encourage them to talk to their families about being prepared.
“And that could be about being prepared for a rushed trip to the hospital, or a natural disaster like the flooding.”
Ms Hanlon said this was just one area where people could volunteer with the Red Cross.
“You can also volunteer with a local branch,” she said.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Australian Red Cross, be sure to attend the information session in June.