Community
20 May, 2026
Honouring our volunteers
COBDEN State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers are encouraging the community to wear orange today (May 20) in recognition of Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW Day), a day of appreciation for SES volunteers held annually during National Volunteer Week.
WOW Day recognises the extraordinary contribution SES volunteers make to communities across the country, supporting people during storms, floods, rescues and other emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
WOW Day also provides an opportunity to recognise the highly trained volunteers behind the orange uniforms who dedicate their time, skills and energy to helping keep communities safe.
From flood and storm response to road crash rescue and search operations, SES volunteers undertake nationally accredited training to ensure they have the capability to respond when communities need them most.
SES volunteers are among the state’s most relied upon emergency responders, working alongside Victoria Police, Country Fire Authority, Fire Rescue Victoria and Ambulance Victoria every single day.
Cobden SES member John Brewer, who has been volunteering with the unit for 45 years, said back when he joined he was enticed by the local controller and never looked back.
“I’ve stayed because of all the different things we do and help people out and road accidents and those sorts of things – that’s all interesting,” he said.
“It’s been good.”
Mr Brewer encouraged anyone thinking of volunteering for their local community to consider the SES for the wide range of opportunity it offers.
“I would say to join the SES because there’s a lot of skills you can learn such as first aid and you can pick up a lot of things through being in the SES,” he said.
“We go to a lot of trees down, sometimes land searches, sometimes maybe an animal stuck in a dam or something like that.
“We have been to an incident where a horse went into a septic tank in the early hours of the morning.
“We go to lots of road accidents.
“We’re always on the lookout for new members – we just have to get them in and get them to train up with us.”
Local community members can show their support for the SES this WOW Day by wearing a splash of orange, sharing a thank you message on social media, hosting an orange-themed morning tea or casual dress day, or learning more about volunteering with the SES.
The SES is always on the lookout for new volunteers, with flexible and inclusive opportunities available for people from all walks of life.
For more information about volunteering with SES, visit www.ses.vic.gov.au/join-us.
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