WOW, thanks SES!

This Wednesday (November 12) is Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW), a national day of recognition encouraging everybody to say thanks to State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers across Australia.

By wearing orange at your workplace, school or while you’re out and about, you’ll not only show SES volunteers that you appreciate all their hard work, but you can also win some great prizes including an Apple iPad.

Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) has 5,000 dedicated volunteers who regularly don orange overalls and head out into storms, floods or road rescue emergencies and keep their communities safe. They serve the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

There are 40,000 SES volunteers across Australia who in the last year committed an astounding 1 million plus hours to serving their communities. VICSES volunteers were active for over 294,478 hours, responding to 31,828 incidents. SES volunteers come from all walks of life and are united by a willingness to devote their time to their community.

VICSES CEO Stephen Griffin said Wear Orange Wednesday is a great opportunity to celebrate the great work done by SES volunteers and let them know how highly they’re valued.

“SES volunteers have a passion and an enthusiasm for helping people when they are most in need. They commit a significant amount of time to skills maintenance and training to ensure they can carry out the wide range of tasks required of them. SES volunteers also dedicate time and effort helping communities to prepare and stay safe during emergencies,” he said.

“September was a busy month for VICSES with two major storms requiring volunteers to work through the night responding to over 4,000 requests for assistance.”

Show you care even more by uploading a photo of your Wear Orange Wednesday outfit to ses.vic.gov.au. Prizes will be awarded to the best dressed individual and the best dressed group.

To send a message of thanks to SES volunteers during Wear Orange Wednesday, visit our WOW page or facebook.com/vicses.