Colleen Johnston says CERV is a great place for people who want to help the community.

The member of Community Emergency Response Volunteer program got involved eight years ago to fulfill a childhood dream of being the medical field. “I always wanted to be a nurse,” she says “but back then…my parents couldn’t afford to send me to school.”

So she signed up to be a CERV member and spends many summer weekends volunteering to provide First Aid services at community events.  And she’s hoping soon there will be more volunteers to help out.

CERV is recruiting up to 10 new volunteers this spring in anticipation of the busy summer season. Johnston says they have a core group of regular volunteers, many of whom have some training already. “We have had a lot of nurses and retired firefighters,” she says.

But Johnston says it is an interesting way to help the community for anyone. “There are a wide variety of people who could do it,” she says adding some young people have used the training as a way to test their desire to become a paramedic. “This will help you get to where you want to be,” she says.

Current CERV members will soon be taking First Aid recertification courses, so she thought this would be the best time to recruit for new members.

Anyone interested in volunteering should send Johnston a resume at [email protected].

“We want people who want to help people.”