Meet Yvonne

Yvonne began volunteering in Newcastle 2 years before retirement and has now been assisting in both the House and J1 Family Room for 15 years. Yvonne is also an active member of our Friends of Ronald McDonald House fundraising group, helping with stalls, BBQs and other events. Yvonne loves volunteering and meeting new people. She says, “Being at the House is a great leveller, and makes you realise that some problems you have are not nearly as bad as other families have it.”

Meet Denise

Denise has volunteered at Tamworth House since it opened its doors 10 years ago.  Denise says “I had a grandson in John Hunter Hospital and my family needed Ronald McDonald House Newcastle. I will be forever grateful for their help and kindness, and wanted to give back by volunteering in Tamworth.” Denise really enjoys talking with the families who stay, and thinks that sometimes the families just like to talk about something other than the hospital, and what’s happening with their precious loved one.

Meet Fay & Michael

Fay and Michael Hirst are two of our Volunteers in the Gosford Family Room.  They have been with us for 5 ½ years.  They chose the Family Room because the charity had such a good reputation in the community, and were delighted when the Family Room was opened.

 These two Volunteers have so much empathy and compassion for the parents of sick children and they love to devote some of their spare time to the guests and to their needs.

 Fay and Michael find that welcoming our families into the Room is rewarding and a huge privilege and they are very aware of the need to allow dignity to our guests regardless of culture and background. As long as they have personal comfort, warmth and something to eat, then Fay and Michael are happy.

 They both intend to continue as Volunteers in the Family Room for as long as they can, and look forward to many more years of service.