Coogee Surf Life Saving Club volunteers’ contributions are among the Surf Life Saving Australia volunteering stories that will be shared next month as part of the Discovering Hidden Legends campaign.
About 190,000 Surf Life Saving Australia volunteers will be recognised in the Discovering Hidden Legends to be held on 9 December 2022 at the South Cronulla SLSC. The campaign highlights the ordinary members of the community who make significant contributions in their surf lifesaver volunteering roles.
One such everyday hero is single-mum Athenia Pascoe who juggles between her job as an accountant and as a volunteer with Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. She made her first patrol in 2019 at Clovelly SLSC and has since received dozens of awards including Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB), Silver Medallion Beach Management, and Advanced Resuscitation.
Apart from educating beachgoers about the water conditions and doing other surf lifesaver duties, she has also assumed other volunteering roles including member protection information officer and finance director.
When asked how she finds doing all these volunteering roles, she described it as a very rewarding experience. And she is amazed at the fact that she is part of an organisation that’s totally run by volunteers.
Meanwhile, her fellow Coogee Surf Life Saving Club member volunteer Cate Kyling considers volunteering as one of her favourite activities and finds it rewarding as well to meet and make connections with other people.
At just 18 years old, Cate is already a vice-captain of her patrol and has already received the Emergency Care award in first aid and advanced resuscitation and Powercraft Awards in inflatable rescue boat driver and crew.
Established in 1907 Surf Life Saving Australia is the largest volunteer movement of its kind in the world. The not-for-profit organisation exists thanks to community donations, fundraising, corporate sponsorship and government grants. So far this season, Surf Life Saving Australia has completed 422 rescues and 1,422 first aids.
Discovering Hidden Legends was launched in 2021 as a joint campaign between Surf Life Saving Australia and DHL. The campaign focuses on the stories of member volunteers who have devoted their time to help run 314 affiliated Surf Life Saving clubs and patrol beaches across Australia.
