Volunteers across the country fulfil a range of roles in community organisations and groups...but also in times of emergency and higher welfare needs. From community coordination, practical tasks, welfare, logistics, intel services and more, these volunteers come from all walks of life. Giving of time to volunteering with Marlborough Emergency Management can be both rewarding and challenging.
Marlborough Emergency Management and Volunteer Marlborough have recently formalised their willingness to work together and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
"This is an exciting step for us as it enhances our ability to tap into a pool of volunteers who understand how we work and are able to assist in emergency response", says Brian Paton, Marlborough Emergency Management Group Manager.
Volunteer Marlborough routinely collects the names and details of members of the community who feel they have the skills and experience which may be of use in the even of an emergency and who are happy to be contacted for assistance in such an event. Both Volunteer Marlborough and the Emergency Management team will be able to access this information to find volunteers for a range of roles, as necessary.
The opportunity for various levels of emergency management training will be provided and Volunteer Marlborough staff will coordinate the deployment of any volunteers required during an event, with the understanding that no volunteers are to self-deploy into the communnity.
As Meg Martin, General Manager for Volunteer Marlborough, points out, there is such a wide and diverse ranger of expertise in the volunteer sector and the wider community. There is also a wide range of skills that can be useful in an emergency. "Having an agreement with Marlborough Emergency Management is one way of tapping into those skills in a way that keeps our volunteers safe", she says. "We hope it will also alleviate the pressure on the Emergency Management team as we ask these wonderful volunteers to contact us to offer their help or ask questions, rather than the Marlborough Emergency Management team"
If you would like to add your name to the list of potential volunteers that may be called on in times of need, you can do so by visiting: https://volunteermarlborough.org.nz/volunteer/emergency-volunteering