In this episode of 'My Queensland Volunteer Story' - We'll be chatting to Rhea Lincoln who's an award-winning volunteer and a second year Veterinary Science Student at the University of Queensland. Her focus on social and environmental justice has helped create support programs like itchY with Eczema Support Australia in 2022 and We Are Not Alone in 2023. Her work has awarded her the Queensland Youth Volunteer of the Year Award for 2025

You'll love this conversation with Laura Fritze-Shanks who volunteers for the Capricorn Conservation Council and Yellow Paint Inc. Her main projects include community gardens and emergency housing, and she even has time to give us a few gardening tips for growing food in our own backyards!

This is the official podcast of Volunteering Queensland. Each month, we travel to regional and remote Queensland to meet some of the larrakins and heroes doing their bit to keep their communities alive by volunteering.

In this episode, we travel to Rockhampton to meet a family who volunteers together at Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service (RACQ CapRescue).

CapRescue services 300,000 people in Central Queensland with a fleet of two emergency helicopters and a family-like team of staff and volunteers. Covering 350,000 square kilometres, from mine sites in the west to 110 nautical miles over the sea. With this large area to cover the operating costs are exponential. Over the past financial year, it has cost over $12 Million to keep CapRescue running to save the lives of over 500 people. With the Government funding 60% of the mission, CapRescue's five staff and their team of volunteers raise $4.6 million alone each year to contribute to running costs.

By joining CapRescue, volunteers have a unique opportunity to make a direct and life-saving impact on their community with no two days the same. Volunteering as a family at Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service not only strengthens the bond between family members through shared experiences but also allows people to collectively contribute to life-saving missions, making a meaningful impact on the community. Most importantly, parents who include their kids in volunteering increases the likelihood that the next generation will continue to volunteer long afterwards. (The Influence of Parenting Styles on Early Adolescence Volunteering - Noemi Mantovan, Robert M. Sauer, John Wilson, 2023 (sagepub.com))

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For more information about Volunteering Queensland visit: https://volunteeringqld.org.au/

For more information about Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service visit: https://caprescue.org.au/