Meet Mary Ann, one of our newest FNQ Volunteers.  (photo of MA in Cairns Museum Volunteer uniform).

Less than three weeks ago, Mary Ann acted on an impulse and went into FNQ Volunteers on Mulgrave Road to see what opportunities were there for her, now she is newly retired. She had heard about the service a couple of years ago but knew little about it.

From the moment she entered, she was welcomed by the office staff, given a list of potential positions and had made an appointment to see a Referral Officer two days later. Mary Ann was pleasantly surprised at the range of positions on offer.

Two days later, she met with the Referral Officer who explained the process, made notes on her file and sent referrals to the two organisations she had chosen from the list – Cairns Museum The Cairns Museum and Historical Society and FNQ Volunteers Welcome to FNQ Volunteers Inc. | Connecting Communities in FNQ. Before the end of the day, she had heard from both organisations asking for further information. Mary Ann answered the questions promptly and attached her latest Resume. The next day, there were invitations for two interviews for her to attend. Following two successful interviews, she started volunteering at both places the following week.

At all times, Mary Ann was treated with respect and made to feel like a valued member of the community. She now knows that she could have filled out an expression of interest on the website at FNQ Volunteers and a similar process would have occurred.

Why did Mary Ann decide to volunteer? At first, she thought it was for mostly selfish reasons to avoid boredom in her new retirement, although she did like the idea of giving back to the community in some way. However, in the short time since she started, she has come to realise that she has always ‘volunteered’ in one way or another at work, taking on extra duties in order to enhance the lives of others.

Mary Ann has already been fascinated to chat with people in the different organisations and find out the reasons that they volunteered. She has come to realise that it is not just retired or unemployed people but people who have paid employment and just want to do that extra to help others. One prime example is when she was chatting with Yvonne from Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) Volunteer Visitors Programme – ACVVS | FNQ Volunteers Inc. Yvonne was saying that there are a lot of young people volunteering to visit the elderly because they are seeking that connection with the older generation.

Mary Ann is excited about her new journey, the fulfilment it will provide and the new connections she will make.

If you’d like to find your perfect volunteer role, the referrals team at FNQ Volunteers Inc. can help. Give us a call on 07 40417400 or visit www.fnqvolunteers.org.au