WITH National Volunteer Week just around the corner, Euroa MP Annabelle Cleeland met recently with members of the Heathcote Royal Flying Doctor Service community transport team, Heathcote Fire Brigade and Heathcote SES.<\/p>\n
She said these organisations were some of many that played an important role in the district.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese groups are such valuable assets to the Heathcote community, ensuring that the region remains safe and has access to top-class levels of care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteers are the lifeblood of regional communities and I want to thank them for the countless hours they spend delivering incredible experiences and services to their towns.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter meeting with these groups, it is clear how much they enjoy servicing the community and the feeling is certainly reciprocated.\u201d<\/p>\n
RFDS community transport team leader Erin Foster said the service started in Heathcote in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pilot project in partnership with Heathcote Health,\u201d she said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t really sure how it would go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew the need was there in the community, but we weren’t sure what the uptake would be.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then we’ve done over 25,000 transports. We added the site in Rochester in 2021 and we\u2019ve since expanded to Numurkah, Warracknabeal and Foster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Foster said the service was growing rapidly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got several more sites underway with another five setting up in the next couple of months, but Heathcote’s been very much the starting point,\u201d she said,<\/p>\n
\u201cWe operate a nine to five service getting people to their health and well-being appointments in the Heathcote region and we can’t do it without our amazing volunteer drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are about 30 of them in the Heathcote area, many of whom have been with the service for five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s an incredible team and we are actively looking for new drivers to keep things going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Foster stressed that there was plenty of support available for RFDS volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe provide full training and there are a lot of checks and balances we go through to make sure that everyone is safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your grandmother was travelling with the service, you\u2019d want to know that the drivers were up to scratch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a really great crew, who really love what they’re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heathcote Fire Brigade Captain Carl Watkins said local emergency services were also actively looking for new members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could certainly use more operational firefighters, especially during the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re pretty right for non-operational people and we\u2019re doing what we need to do during the day, but it’s just the same handful of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
For information about the RFDS volunteer driver program visit https:\/\/www.flyingdoctor.org.au\/vic\/what-we-do\/community-transport\/ or call 7046 4664.<\/p>\n
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