WOW (Wear Orange Wednesday) Day is held each year in May to recognise the SES volunteers who give up their time to respond to emergencies and rescues across South Australia.
Whether it’s in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain or in the searing heat, SES volunteers are there to help, from tarping roofs, sandbagging properties, removing fallen trees from properties, searching for missing people and responding to road crashes.
Last financial year, volunteers responded to more than 10,000 call outs.
Many of the call outs were related to two major emergencies; severe weather and flooding in the north and west of the state associated with ex-tropical Cyclone Tiffany that damaged the rail network and flooded the Stuart Highway, and the once-in-a-century River Murray flood that started in October last year and impacted about 4000 properties.
If you want to get involved, there will be an SES WOW Day celebration in Rundle Mall, under the Gawler Place canopy, on Wednesday 17 May from 11am to 3pm.
The celebration will include special guest Andrew ‘Cosi” Costello, from South Aussie with Cosi, and WOW Day principal sponsor NRMA Insurance. There will also be a photobooth to send a message of thanks to the volunteers, an appearance from SES mascot Paddy the Platypus, giveaways and SES vehicles.
Other ways you can say thank you to SES volunteers this WOW Day:
- take a photo of how you’re celebrating WOW Day and share it to social media using the hashtag #ThankYouSES
- wear something orange to work, it could be an orange shirt, dress, socks, pants, etc
- dress up your pets in orange
- decorate your office or desk in orange
- bake something orange to share with your colleagues, like orange-frosted cupcakes, and host a WOW morning tea
- say “thank you” to the SES volunteers in your life.
Learn more about WOW Day and the SES in South Australia.
WOW Day is being celebrated during National Volunteer Week, which started on Monday 15 May and ends on Sunday 21 May. It’s a week dedicated to celebrating the valuable contributions of all volunteers in South Australia and around the country.
