HAWKESBURY State Emergency Services (SES) volunteers want the community to wear something orange to work, or school, on November 12, as part of Wear Orange Wednesday — or WOW day.
Wearing the colour of the SES is a great way to show support for their hard work through a simple gesture.
The day aims to recognise and appreciate the dedication of SES personnel across the nation and will show volunteers they are valued by the communities they support and keep safe.
Hawkesbury SES volunteer Karen Carpenter said the day showed that the public appreciated their work and made them feel valued.
‘‘It helps raise awareness of the work that we do and gets more people to understand the dedication we have for our job,’’ Ms Carpenter said.
Heidi Groom, from the SES Sydney North regional office, said people could have a little fun and wear an orange garment to work, wear a complete orange outfit or dye their hair orange.
‘‘The main point of WOW Day is to get the community to realise that all volunteers do a lot of dangerous work for no payment,’’ she said.
She said the event, which is in its third year, was becoming more and more popular.
‘‘It’s also a great way to show people what the SES do not do,’’ Ms Groom said.
‘‘We only do the wet stuff; storms, floods and such, not the hot stuff.
‘‘If only I had a coin for every time we were contacted about fires.’’
Organisers said they expected some schools, shops, towns or workplaces to be decorated in orange on the day.
In the Hawkesbury there are more than 60 volunteers who each year collectively provide hundreds of hours of their time to help the community in times of emergencies and natural disasters.
