BIG CHALLENGE .03 Sen Const Spiteri likes to push the limits to raise money for charity.
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Even off the clock, police work tirelessly to make Victoria a better place by volunteering and competing in physical challenges to raise money or help those who need it most. EDITORIAL ANTHONY LONCARIC PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW Henshaw
SENIOR SERGEANT STEVE BILLS
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enior Sergeant Steve Bills does not understand why more people don’t give blood. The 44-year-old has been doing it since the age of 18 and said he will keep going until he is told he can’t do it anymore. “It amazes me what hospitals can do with blood products and the fact is one in three people will need blood at some stage in their lives,” he said. “Such a small commitment like a standard whole blood donation takes 15 minutes and can save a lot of lives. I have a young family and a busy lifestyle so it also gives me a chance to have some peace and quiet time.” Sen Sgt Bills, who works at St Kilda Road Police Station, has made more than 250 donations so far, including whole blood, plasma and platelets. “I do about 15 donations a year,” he said. “I find donating plasma and platelets fascinating because you are connected to a machine that takes your blood out, splits the components in a centrifuge and then gives you the red blood cells
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back. Because you get your red cells back, you are able to donate more regularly and I donate roughly every three weeks. “A platelets donation takes me about an hour and a half and you often end up getting quite cold because whilst the blood leaves your body warm, it is cooler when it goes back in, so I'm often wrapped in a blanket during the donation.” Each year a celebratory event is held for milestone donors and this year Sen Sgt Bills was asked to speak on behalf of donors. Ironically it was another police officer, Moorabbin Divisional Intelligence Unit Sergeant Kevin Vanstaveren, that spoke at the same ceremony on behalf of recipients. He had suffered from bone cancer and received a variety of blood products as part of his treatment. “You just don’t know who you can help with a donation, it could be a small child suffering from a disease or someone involved in an unfortunate accident,” he said. “It’s why I always tell people to donate.”
SENIOR CONSTABLE CHERREE BLAIR
SENIOR CONSTABLE TIM SPITERI
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ildura Police Station’s Senior Constable Cherree Blair also donates blood, but her main charitable focus is on raising money for the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation. The foundation supports a range of community projects, including the development of hospital units, in memory of fallen police. Sen Const Blair, 31, is president of the foundation’s Mildura Branch and coordinates a number of events throughout the year. “We run inside story nights where detectives come along and talk about some of the intriguing investigations they have worked on,” she said. “I organised the local Remembrance Day service in September as well as barbecues and other fundraising events and have helped run Blue Light Discos for youths.” She recently assisted a local police member to run an emergency services biggest loser challenge, which raised $6000 for Blue Ribbon. Her work enabled the purchase of specialised equipment for the Resuscitation Unit at Mildura Base Hospital, which provides critical care and life support to patients admitted with a range of conditions including respiratory distress and heart attack. The unit was dedicated as a police memorial in memory of Constable John Glen who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1956. Giving back runs in her family with her father, Jeparit Police Station’s Leading Senior Constable Graham Blair also big on volunteer work. “He tends to volunteer in every committee he comes across,” she said. “I sometimes feel overcommitted but it is all worthwhile in the end and a great way to engage with the community. I only moved up here a couple of years ago and I have made so many friends through this work.”
orthcote Police Station’s Leading Senior Constable Tim Spiteri believes anything and everything is possible. It is this attitude that has helped him achieve things most people would think are unachievable, and it has probably kept him alive. With a love for the outdoors, Ldg Sen Const Spiteri decided to take on a mammoth rowing challenge to raise money to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – a disease his mother suffers from. He put together an eight-person crew in January 2013 to row from the Canary Islands to Barbados. The row was completed in 35 days, 12 hours and 41 minutes, using the same method of rowing for two hours and having two hours off for the entire journey. Ldg Sen Const Spiteri, 35, said the row was extremely dangerous, with the crew having to face strong winds and 10 metre waves. “We had a number of issues along the journey including the steering on the boat not working for five days and problems with our water desalination machine,” he said. “At one stage I suffered from terrible back pain and was in agony for days. While I was resting I read an email from a man who was diagnosed with MS two years earlier and he said I was an inspiration to him. It spurred me on and gave me strength to complete the journey and it was the most amazing feeling to arrive at the port in Barbados and see my parents waiting there for me.” His next adventure will see him attempt to row more than 8000 kilometres with a team of six from Western Australia to South Africa, non-stop and without support in April. “My goal is to raise $250,000 for MS Australia,” he said. “It will be tough but not as tough as what people living with MS have to face each day.”
POLICELIFE SUMMER 2014
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