Volunteer ambulance officer Joanne Wakelin has been volunteering with St John and has loved every moment of it. Photo Jaime Pitt-MacKayFor Joanne Wakelin, the enjoyment of being a volunteer ambulance officer is not about the thrill of flashing lights and sirens, but helping those in need.

Wakelin has been a volunteer ambulance officer in Ashburton for five years, one of the many St John staff in Ashburton who work on a volunteer basis.

“It was something that was always on my mind, and my husband is a volunteer firefighter and I was a bit jealous of him helping the community so I wanted to do something as well,” she said.

“It is one of those things you think you want to do but you don’t ever really know until you do it.

“On my first shift I absolutely loved it.

“We were mainly helping out elderly people but I still loved it and the officer I did the shift with said that’s good because if you are here for the sirens and chasing things you are in the wrong place.”

Wakelin said one of the challenges that can come about is juggling the volunteer shifts, working full-time as a teacher and the learning and training to up-skill within St John.

“I wasn’t teaching full time when I started but I am now but I am still able to average a shift a week,” she said.

“For me it is something I look forward to like a hobby, the same as some people look forward to going round in a race-car or playing squash.

“It can be tough to fit studying in with work stuff as I have taken on a bit more management work so you do have to find a balance as far as being a volunteer goes.

“You do have to remember who actually pays you and look after them as well.”

Despite the challenges, the rewarding nature of volunteering means that Wakelin is more than happy to recommend it to anybody that is interested.

“I would absolutely recommend it, you do need to recognise the commitment that you have got to have to do this,” she said.

St John currently has more than 9600 volunteers that assist thousands of people across the country that contribute their time to St John’s front-line ambulance service and a variety of community health programmes.

St John estimates its volunteers contribute more than two million hours to New Zealand communities, and if it were possible to put a financial value on such support, it would be in excess of $30 million dollars.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 19 June 2019