Altrusa, an international organisation of service clubs which focus on local needs, provides volunteers with an opportunity to make a difference in the community, professional growth and fun and friendship.
Altrusa made a $2500 donation to the Arrowtown co-response team.
Altrusa Queenstown spokeswoman Kate Dawson said the Queenstown club had been providing service to the community for the past 27 years through fundraisers and community service projects.
"In the past year, the club has held a fashion parade, organised a charity golf tournament, given books to the babies born in September, given a scholarship to Wakatipu High School, given donations to the local Buddy programme, catered for local functions, joined in the Walk for Life at Cromwell [and] provided marshalls for the Lake Hayes Women's Triathlon."
When it came time to decide who would be next to benefit from an Altrusa donation, the Arrowtown Fire Brigade's co-response unit was an easy choice, Mrs Dawson said.
"We like to spread the money around the area and Arrowtown always supports us . . . we wanted to give something back out here."
Volunteer firefighter Leroy Mullings said the co-response unit was designed to help St John by getting to the scene of an accident or medical call as quickly as possible and being trained to start working on a patient immediately.
Firefighter Mark Woodham said nine of the brigade's members had gone through the pre-hospital emergency care course, which cost $700 each, funded by the brigade.
The donation from Altrusa went towards those costs.
Mr Woodham said the Arrowtown brigade's area covered from halfway down the Kawarau Gorge and the top of the Crown Range zig-zag, to Lake Hayes Estate on State Highway 6 and the Arrowtown side of Coronet Peak.
Last year, the brigade attended 118 callouts. Sixty of those callouts were to medical incidents.
