Service rescues Sam

A seasoned Rockingham volunteer has shared how offering her time in service to the community helped her when she felt the most lost in life.

At 13-years-old, Sam Gibling started her volunteering journey as a Girl Guide, completing 20 hours of community service at an aged-care facility for a badge before staying on full-time.

Today, she is a volunteer with Marine Rescue Rockingham, serving as the group’s treasurer and training to be a crew member.

Ms Gibling said volunteering had led her to taking on a role with the Royal Australian Navy.

“Girl Guides cemented my belief in helping others and introduced me to the Australian Defence Force and as a result of their camaraderie and commitment to protect Australia and help those in need, I ended up joining the Navy when I was 20,” she said.

“I loved most of my time in the service and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Ms Gibling said after being medically discharged from the Navy in 2010, it had taken a while for her to find purpose again.

“I felt very lost and detached from the world. I felt that I lost part of my identity as I had always been a part of something bigger than myself and working for what I believed was for the greater good,” she said.

“After years of support and therapy I was able to start helping others again.

“First I became an assistant scout leader and was given the opportunity to work with kids and guide them in achieving their scouting goals,” she said.

“Being able to be part of something bigger than myself and giving back to the community was just what I needed and When I was asked to become the treasurer for Marine Rescue Rockingham in 2018, I just couldn’t refuse.”

It was Ms Gibling’s father who first asked her to join as treasurer, due to her experience in bookkeeping.

“I am now learning how to become a crew member and I have been out and done rescues and searches for missing people,” she said.

“We may not always be successful in what we want to do, but at least we’re out there trying to help and hopefully providing some comfort to the families.”

Ms Gibling said she had found her work with the Marine Rescue to be “very diverse and very rewarding”.

“I enjoy the fact that nearly every day, I will see someone different and that when there is an emergency we all band together to get the job done to the best of our abilities,” she said.

“Volunteering is so rewarding. Giving back to the community is something I really believe in and something which has been instilled in me by my family, and my children are now involved as well.

“It is something you can do for the greater good of humanity and volunteering for an organisation like marine rescue is a great place to start out.”