Mary Kemsley, Elaine Mason and Sarah Thompson are proof that anyone can volunteer, regardless of what stage of life they are at.

Mary Kemsley decided to join the SES at the beginning of 2019.

"Not wanting to sit at home when I semi retired, I looked at all the volunteer roles in town," she said.

"SES was recommended to me by my family.

"It offered both the mental and physical challenges to keep me fit and mentally healthy."

Sarah Thompson is a student at Charles Sturt University, studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Outdoor Recreation and Ecotourism).

She said the volunteer work with the SES ties in well with her studies. Sarah also volunteers with the Koala Hospital and is on call to rescue koalas in need.

Sarah joined the SES in August and has completed her communications course for the unit. She plans to undergo the storm and flood course next.

Elaine Mason works full time and said she joined by accident five years ago.

She attended an SES information night with a friend and was impressed by the facilities and the range of roles available to volunteers.

Initially Elaine was attracted to admin roles within the unit but she decided to get out of her comfort zone and trained to be on the frontline to help people in emergency situations.

Joining the SES has helped Elaine build confidence in all areas of her life.

Mary said she enjoys the training days, as each one is different.

"From setting up safety systems, to climbing on roofs or down cliffs, building dams with sandbags, learning correct methods of carrying people on stretchers and most of all putting safety first," she said.

Sarah said while she leads a busy life, training at the SES requires only three hours a week.

"I'm a pretty organised person, so I just make it work," she said.

By completing all the appropriate training, Sarah said it makes a volunteer more confident when they attend a real-life scenario.

Elaine said her work is very accommodating with allowing her to attend emergency situations when required.

She said her children have left home, so her volunteer role fits in with her full time job.

Since 2018 the SES Port Macquarie has hosted workshops for women on how to prepare for and deal with emergencies.

The Get Ready Girls Workshops empower women to learn basic emergency preparedness and response strategies.

Elaine said people in the SES are all ages and come from all kinds of backgrounds.

"We're all the same as each other when we've got our uniform on," she said.

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