Why you should wear orange on Wednesday to say thanks to your local SES

The Advertiser

21-05-2025

IN the truck from sunrise to sunset, Lorraine Sim doesn't mind the long days spent helping her community.
The 54-year-old has been volunteering with the Newcastle SES unit for the past two years, and heavy rainfall and flash flooding have kept her on her toes this past week.
"It's been extremely busy. I've been in the truck since last Friday and basically been in it all day," she said.
She said jobs had varied from water in houses, to tiles off roofs, holes in roofs and trees on homes.
"It's all types of things, you never know what you're going to be doing on the job," she said.
Coinciding with Wear Orange Wednesday on May 20, where communities across NSW are encouraged to wear orange and thank SES volunteers for their dedication and service, Ms Sim says it's the appreciation she receives for helping that keeps her coming back for more.
"It's such a great initiative because, to be honest, it really is the thanks from the people that you actually help that means the most," she said.
"It's really fulfilling. It's great to be able to give back to the community in general. People are so appreciative of us coming out and helping them in their times of need, and I do enjoy the tasks we get to do."
Aside from the adrenaline-pumping rescue missions, Ms Sim said she enjoyed making friends and meeting people along the way.
"You meet different characters and it's just like an extended family," she said.
She encouraged more people to consider joining their local SES units.
"I don't think a lot of people realise how easy it is to give up a little bit of your time to help someone else out. It's a rewarding thing if you've got the ability to volunteer and give up some time," she said.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib gave a shout-out to the 1600 SES volunteers on the ground in the Hunter working to keep communities safe.
"We've got over 1600 SES people from here from other parts of the state supporting the community, and they're tired," he said.
"As a minister, I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of the volunteers who think of things that are bigger than themselves, who think about the community and understand they are giving up their time to support all of us," he said.
He encouraged communities to wear an orange clothing item as a sign of gratitude on Wednesday.
"They're doing extraordinary work and I just need them to know that we support them and we appreciate them," he said.
Community members were able to write a message of thanks on a specially marked SES heavy rescue vehicle on Thursday, May 15, as it travelled across the state.
The 'Truckload of Thanks' tour celebrated 70 years of service by the NSW SES and coincided with National Volunteer Week, Australia's largest celebration of volunteering
The truck travelled through towns across all seven NSW SES zones, including Maitland, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Goulburn, concluding on Wear Orange Wednesday.
IN the truck from sunrise to sunset, Lorraine Sim doesn't mind the long days spent helping her community.
The 54-year-old has been volunteering with the Newcastle SES unit for the past two years, and heavy rainfall and flash flooding have kept her on her toes this past week.
"It's been extremely busy. I've been in the truck since last Friday and basically been in it all day," she said.
She said jobs had varied from water in houses, to tiles off roofs, holes in roofs and trees on homes.
"It's all types of things, you never know what you're going to be doing on the job," she said.
Coinciding with Wear Orange Wednesday on May 20, where communities across NSW are encouraged to wear orange and thank SES volunteers for their dedication and service, Ms Sim says it's the appreciation she receives for helping that keeps her coming back for more.
"It's such a great initiative because, to be honest, it really is the thanks from the people that you actually help that means the most," she said.
"It's really fulfilling. It's great to be able to give back to the community in general. People are so appreciative of us coming out and helping them in their times of need, and I do enjoy the tasks we get to do."
Aside from the adrenaline-pumping rescue missions, Ms Sim said she enjoyed making friends and meeting people along the way.
"You meet different characters and it's just like an extended family," she said.
She encouraged more people to consider joining their local SES units.
"I don't think a lot of people realise how easy it is to give up a little bit of your time to help someone else out. It's a rewarding thing if you've got the ability to volunteer and give up some time," she said.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib gave a shout-out to the 1600 SES volunteers on the ground in the Hunter working to keep communities safe.
"We've got over 1600 SES people from here from other parts of the state supporting the community, and they're tired," he said.
"As a minister, I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of the volunteers who think of things that are bigger than themselves, who think about the community and understand they are giving up their time to support all of us," he said.
He encouraged communities to wear an orange clothing item as a sign of gratitude on Wednesday.
"They're doing extraordinary work and I just need them to know that we support them and we appreciate them," he said.
Community members were able to write a message of thanks on a specially marked SES heavy rescue vehicle on Thursday, May 15, as it travelled across the state.
The 'Truckload of Thanks' tour celebrated 70 years of service by the NSW SES and coincided with National Volunteer Week, Australia's largest celebration of volunteering
The truck travelled through towns across all seven NSW SES zones, including Maitland, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Goulburn, concluding on Wear Orange Wednesday.
IN the truck from sunrise to sunset, Lorraine Sim doesn't mind the long days spent helping her community.
The 54-year-old has been volunteering with the Newcastle SES unit for the past two years, and heavy rainfall and flash flooding have kept her on her toes this past week.
"It's been extremely busy. I've been in the truck since last Friday and basically been in it all day," she said.
She said jobs had varied from water in houses, to tiles off roofs, holes in roofs and trees on homes.
"It's all types of things, you never know what you're going to be doing on the job," she said.
Coinciding with Wear Orange Wednesday on May 20, where communities across NSW are encouraged to wear orange and thank SES volunteers for their dedication and service, Ms Sim says it's the appreciation she receives for helping that keeps her coming back for more.
"It's such a great initiative because, to be honest, it really is the thanks from the people that you actually help that means the most," she said.
"It's really fulfilling. It's great to be able to give back to the community in general. People are so appreciative of us coming out and helping them in their times of need, and I do enjoy the tasks we get to do."
Aside from the adrenaline-pumping rescue missions, Ms Sim said she enjoyed making friends and meeting people along the way.
"You meet different characters and it's just like an extended family," she said.
She encouraged more people to consider joining their local SES units.
"I don't think a lot of people realise how easy it is to give up a little bit of your time to help someone else out. It's a rewarding thing if you've got the ability to volunteer and give up some time," she said.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib gave a shout-out to the 1600 SES volunteers on the ground in the Hunter working to keep communities safe.
"We've got over 1600 SES people from here from other parts of the state supporting the community, and they're tired," he said.
"As a minister, I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of the volunteers who think of things that are bigger than themselves, who think about the community and understand they are giving up their time to support all of us," he said.
He encouraged communities to wear an orange clothing item as a sign of gratitude on Wednesday.
"They're doing extraordinary work and I just need them to know that we support them and we appreciate them," he said.
Community members were able to write a message of thanks on a specially marked SES heavy rescue vehicle on Thursday, May 15, as it travelled across the state.
The 'Truckload of Thanks' tour celebrated 70 years of service by the NSW SES and coincided with National Volunteer Week, Australia's largest celebration of volunteering
The truck travelled through towns across all seven NSW SES zones, including Maitland, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Goulburn, concluding on Wear Orange Wednesday.
IN the truck from sunrise to sunset, Lorraine Sim doesn't mind the long days spent helping her community.
The 54-year-old has been volunteering with the Newcastle SES unit for the past two years, and heavy rainfall and flash flooding have kept her on her toes this past week.
"It's been extremely busy. I've been in the truck since last Friday and basically been in it all day," she said.
She said jobs had varied from water in houses, to tiles off roofs, holes in roofs and trees on homes.
"It's all types of things, you never know what you're going to be doing on the job," she said.
Coinciding with Wear Orange Wednesday on May 20, where communities across NSW are encouraged to wear orange and thank SES volunteers for their dedication and service, Ms Sim says it's the appreciation she receives for helping that keeps her coming back for more.
"It's such a great initiative because, to be honest, it really is the thanks from the people that you actually help that means the most," she said.
"It's really fulfilling. It's great to be able to give back to the community in general. People are so appreciative of us coming out and helping them in their times of need, and I do enjoy the tasks we get to do."
Aside from the adrenaline-pumping rescue missions, Ms Sim said she enjoyed making friends and meeting people along the way.
"You meet different characters and it's just like an extended family," she said.
She encouraged more people to consider joining their local SES units.
"I don't think a lot of people realise how easy it is to give up a little bit of your time to help someone else out. It's a rewarding thing if you've got the ability to volunteer and give up some time," she said.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib gave a shout-out to the 1600 SES volunteers on the ground in the Hunter working to keep communities safe.
"We've got over 1600 SES people from here from other parts of the state supporting the community, and they're tired," he said.
"As a minister, I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of the volunteers who think of things that are bigger than themselves, who think about the community and understand they are giving up their time to support all of us," he said.
He encouraged communities to wear an orange clothing item as a sign of gratitude on Wednesday.
"They're doing extraordinary work and I just need them to know that we support them and we appreciate them," he said.
Community members were able to write a message of thanks on a specially marked SES heavy rescue vehicle on Thursday, May 15, as it travelled across the state.
The 'Truckload of Thanks' tour celebrated 70 years of service by the NSW SES and coincided with National Volunteer Week, Australia's largest celebration of volunteering
The truck travelled through towns across all seven NSW SES zones, including Maitland, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Goulburn, concluding on Wear Orange Wednesday.