AS a single mother, Vanessa Murdoch decided to volunteer with St John Ambulance to do something for herself.
The Victoria Park resident has been volunteering with the organisation for about 18 months as a first aid assistant.
Ms Murdoch won the First Aid Services and Training Volunteer of the Year at the St John Ambulance WA Volunteer of the Year Awards on August 24.
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READ NOW“I thought it would be a rewarding thing to do and everyone that I’ve worked with is fabulous,” she said.
“We teach people about CPR and promote first aid and it’s most definitely something that is important for people to learn, even for young people.
“We have a variety of people who do the course, including parents and pregnant mums and I just love it.
“It was an honour to receive the award; I feel flattered.”
Among the other winners was Como resident Shu Yin Chin, who received the Youth and Community Volunteer of the Year award.
“I started volunteering about one year ago. I was completing my early childhood teaching degree and I thought it made sense to do something related to it,” she said.
“I help deliver a program targeted at children aged between three and six or seven that teaches them about identifying an emergency.
“The program is quite interactive and we make it short and sharp.
“It came as a surprise to be recognised because there are so many volunteers.”