Call for Volunteers to Help at Gold Coast Schoolies 2011
1 September 2011 at 1:19 pm
Crime Stoppers Queensland has begun recruiting volunteers as part of the 2011 Gold Coast Schoolies Support Service Team.
The organisation is calling for 300 community minded people to sign up during September to support the volunteer program at this year’s Gold Coast Schoolies Community Safety Response.
Crime Stoppers Queensland Chief Executive Officer Trevor O’Hara says Support Service Team (SST) volunteers provide street and beach patrols, walk home services, a friendly smile and a wise ear to school leavers.
The SST Volunteers wear bright orange tabards during their patrols in order to be easily identified by schoolies and they provide important information about the schoolies hub, response and overall experience in central Surfers Paradise.
Thousands of teenagers flock to Queensland from across Australia after they finish high school and the Year 12 exams each year inundating coastal resorts such Surfers Paradise. The ‘Schoolies Week’ event has come under criticism for street violence, alcohol and drug abuse as well as unwelcome older people trying to take part in the youthful celebrations.
O’Hara says volunteers are sought for the response from Saturday 19 to Friday 25 November 2011. SST volunteers work alongside emergency service personnel and the safety response management to ensure schoolies celebrate together safely, on the Surfers Paradise beachfront.
And because it can take up to six weeks for volunteers to be accredited with their ‘working with children’ Blue Card, it’s imperative for all volunteers to register their interest before the end of September.
O’Hara says they are seeing more and more parents volunteering to connect with their teenagers during Schoolies Week.
He says being a Support Service Team volunteer is a fantastic way for parents of school leavers to connect with the safety program without cramping the style of their children and assist all Schoolies in Surfers Paradise in a positive way.
During the same recruitment period in 2010 over 350 Volunteers registered to help with the safety response, with 135 of those having volunteered in previous years.
Community members interested in volunteering can read information and register obligation-free online at www.schooliesvolunteer.com.au or call 1300 309 355.
