When emergencies happen, Marlborough steps up.
Earthquakes, severe weather, flooding, pandemics, and other emergencies can place huge pressure on communities and the organisations responding to them. Volunteers can make an enormous difference, but good intentions work best when they are coordinated, prepared, and connected to the wider emergency response.
That's where we come in!
Volunteer Marlborough has an official agreement with Marlborough Emergency Management to help recruit, prepare, and coordinate pre-registered emergency volunteers when additional community support is needed.
Emergency volunteering is about much more than rescue work.
In fact, many of the skills needed during an emergency are the same skills people already use every day at work, at home, or in their community.
Depending on the situation, volunteers may be needed to help with things such as:
You will not automatically be working in an Emergency Coordination Centre or as part of a rescue team. Those roles require additional training and are only available to people who choose to undertake it.
We maintain a database of people across Marlborough who are willing to help if an emergency occurs.
When you register, we collect information about your skills, experience, availability, and the types of tasks you may be comfortable helping with.
If volunteer support is required during an emergency, people with suitable skills may then be contacted.
Being on the database does not mean you are committing to being available every time. If you can't help when contacted, that's completely okay!
Registered emergency volunteers are offered free basic training to help them understand how emergency volunteeing works and what may be expected of them.
There are also opportunities to complete additional training, including areas such as:
You choose how far you want to take it!
Emergencies are not the ideal time to begin figuring out who is available, what skills they have or where they might be most useful.
Pre-registering means we can do some of that groundwork before it's needed.
It helps ensure volunteers can be deployed in a more organised, safe, and effective way and allows emergency agencies to concentrate on the response itself.
If you are 18 or over and live in the Marlborough region, you can register.
You don't need emergency management experience, specialist qualifications, or unlimited availability.
You may already have exactly the kind of skills that could be useful.
You might never be called.
But if an emergency happens and extra hands are needed, being registered means you're already one step closer to being able to help.
Sign up below to join Marlborough's Emergency Volunteer Database and help strengthen our community's ability to respond when it matters most.