Thank you to everyone who attended our New Member Night and applied to join our team.
We are truly grateful for the overwhelming interest and support. We appreciate each and every person who took the time to connect with us.
Stay connected for future opportunities and updates.
We always welcome more volunteers into our community.
With gratitude,
Thé YSSR Team
Come join our team!
We accept applications for operational members twice per year around our New Member Nights. These are no-obligation recruitment events where you can learn about volunteering with YSSR and if it’s right for you. There are a variety of ways you can volunteer with the team, both operational and non-operational.
To apply, there are five forms we need you to complete. Once all the forms are completed, you can submit them to our Membership Committee at membership@yssr.ca. Copies of two pieces of government issued ID are required with the forms and we need to verify them in person. We will verify IDs at our General Meetings (first Wednesday of every month) or before our Executive Meetings (third Wednesday of every month). Please email membership@yssr.ca for times and locations. Once that’s been done, we will submit the background checks on your behalf to the RCMP.
After we receive your results, you can pay your YSSR Membership dues, which are $40 the first year you join and include a YSSR shirt. Annual Membership dues after that are $20.
The last step to become an operational member is to complete our Searcher Training, which is offered twice a year in line with our recruitment events.
Questions? Check out our FAQ or contact us.
Members in non-operational roles support our team by contributing their time, energy, and unique skills to some of the following functions:
Yes, if you would like to be an operational member who gets deployed on searches. If you can’t attend the event, don’t worry! You can submit the required forms to membership@yssr.ca and let us know you’re enable to attend, but still want to become a part of our team.
If you are interested in volunteering in a non-operational role, you can join at anytime! To download forms, click here.
Absolutely! Members can volunteer in many ways including fundraising, PR events, and administrative support. Check out our Non-Operational Roles.
New YSSR Membership dues are $40, which this includes a YSSR shirt. Annual YSSR membership dues are $20.
Operational functions of search and rescue can be physically demanding. You may be asked to search in difficult terrain while carrying a pack for several hours at a time, so awareness of your physical limitations is key.
We ask YSSR members to participate in a variety of meetings, fundraising events, and searches.
If you are unable to make it to a search, that’s no problem. We understand that it is not always possible to leave work, find childcare, etc. Before you consider joining YSSR as an operational member, please evaluate whether you would be able to attend searches. This is our purpose, and the reason we require a dedicated and trained volunteer base.
Searcher Training is mandatory in order to become an operational member. This training is held over a weekend, scheduled twice a year. We also require all operational YSSR members to have a valid Standard First Aid certificate within 6 months of becoming operational. If you don’t have a valid First Aid certificate, YSSR does schedule First Aid training a couple times a year.
YSSR is called out for more than just searches in the York and Sunbury counties of NB. We are always called out for searches in the Fredericton and surrounding areas, and are often called out to help our sister teams in the Saint John, St. Andrews, and surrounding areas. YSSR has also been asked to help with searches all across NB, as well as searches in PEI, Nova Scotia, and Maine.
Most training takes place in Fredericton and the surrounding area.
YSSR has no paid positions. For actual searches tasked by the RCMP, we may be reimbursed for travel expenses to and from the search site. Our policy is to carpool when possible.
You must provide your own weather-appropriate clothing and footwear. YSSR provides compasses, radios, and GPS units for training and search teams. We will provide you with a list of items that are good to have in your pack, but many things are not needed immediately, and can be accumulated over time.
While it is very useful to have a vehicle to get to training and searches, you could get by without one. When we are called out for a search, we typically meet somewhere first. If you can get to the meeting point via taxi, there would be an opportunity to carpool from there.
Most of our communications is done by email, on our web site, or on social media sites. You could get by without internet access, but you would miss out on a lot of what happens with the team. You do not need to have a cell phone.
Yes, volunteers have basic coverage through the Province of New Brunswick. Make sure you sign in when attending official activities to ensure you are covered.
