Vollie Q&A – Ivor and Maria

13 Dec 2023

Name: Ivor and Maria Edwards
Age: 79 and 75
Have you always lived in FNQ? If not, where did you come from and how long have you been here? We moved up here from Sydney in 2011. We had friends who lived up here and I
wanted to live by the sea.
Volunteer role: We started doing the shopping trolley on Sundays eight years ago and when they found out Ivor was a preschool entertainer he started working in the children’s ward. I worked in OPERA for a long time but now I’m on the D Block information desk. I used to work as a medical receptionist. I love interacting with people.
How did you come to start volunteering with us? We were retired and we had the “retirement blues” and we wanted to give back to the community.
Star sign: Aries and Capricorn
Interests, hobbies, past-times: Music and drama. Walking, cooking and reading.
Tell us about your family – kids, grandkids, great grandkids? We have one daughter and two grandsons.
What do you do with yourself when you are not helping us? We also volunteer at JCU in the simulated patients program.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with us? Friendship and you make us feel special. We feel like we’re part of a family and we’ve made such good friends. We feel genuinely
supported. We couldn’t wish to work for anyone better.
Do you have any funny tales about volunteering with us? Not really funny stories but people recognise us. Oh, we met a man who’d been struck by lightning once. We love the
people we meet.

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