The young Southeast Search and Rescue (SESK SAR) chapter is quickly growing and sees a lot of support coming from the communities.
And while two groups have already completed the basic ground search training, the need for the equipment and gear becomes more urgent. Fortunately, the donations from local organizations and businesses allow SESK SAR to develop obtaining the needed items a bit at a time.
Thus, the Estevan Police Association (EPA) recently donated $1,500 to the volunteer search and rescue, allowing for the purchase of three professional high-visibility jackets and GPS necessary for the winter searches.
“We decided as an association that’s a local organization, keeping the money in the southeast, and it’s a new organization that’s trying to get started and get funding to get up and going. It is also an organization that’s going to assist us in what we do for a daily purpose around the city in the southeast,” said EPA president Kevin Reed, who is a sergeant with the Estevan Police Service.
The money was collected through the Max-fun Colour Run that EPA hosted for the first time this year. About 60 people partook in the run at Woodlawn Regional Park in September, and 30 more people from the Estevan Police Service and SESK SAR volunteered to make the day unforgettable. Reed was pleased with their first experience with the event.
“The Colour Run went very well. The association members and the search and rescue volunteers ran a great organized event, and people that attended enjoyed it profusely,” said Reed.
Another recent donation came from the Western Financial Group. Lorna Tester along with other staff members helped to organize several fundraisers in May for SESKSAR.
Each year they pick a charity within the community to support, and this year the choice fell on the Southeast search and rescue group.
“A couple of the staff from our office attended… the information meeting in January and we thought it was a worthy cause. They are just a new group in the area and there is a big commitment for equipment that they have to purchase to get their group up and running,” said Tester.
The money will be used to put plates on the command trailer that was donated earlier this year by the Bayliss family in memory of Ruby Barnes.
The second group of volunteers has recently completed their training (for more on the story see next week’s edition of the Lifestyles). Now SESK SAR is working on gathering the basic equipment that will allow the organization to be able to safely partake in a search in case someone in the southeast goes missing. The personal professional gear to ensure the safety of volunteer searchers will be the first priority and then the group will start fundraising to fill the incident command trailer with the needed items and equipment such as AEDs, a first aid kit and others.
