After 66 years of dedicated service to the community, the Bairnsdale Ambulance Auxiliary will disband before Christmas.
The main fundraising arm, the Bairnsdale Ambulance Auxiliary opportunity shop located at 320 Main Street, will close its doors for the last time on Saturday, December 18.
It’s the end of an era.  
A band of selfless volunteers, the Bairnsdale Ambulance Auxiliary has raised more than $2 million since inception in 1955 to purchase and upgrade ambulance vehicles.
In more recent years, fundraising has enabled specialised medical equipment to be purchased and this equipment has saved countless lives across East Gippsland.
The Bairnsdale auxiliary team has led in the amount of funds raised across all ambulance auxiliaries throughout Victoria, and proceeds from the op shop have been adding $50,000 annually to the fundraising kitty.

IMAGE: Bairnsdale Ambulance Service Ladies Auxiliary volunteers, Cecily Strickland and Lil Henderson, are two of the 10 dedicated volunteers who have been running the op shop.