GRAHAM’S TIRELESS WORK IN LIFESAVING

COOLANGATTA local Graham Wilson (right) first became involved with the LifeFlight charity after spotting an ad in the Gold Coast Bulletin calling for volunteers.

Having just retired from the Volunteer Marine Rescue, Mr Wilson decided to give it a go.

Now the dedicated volunteer has reached his milestone 25th fundraising year this week for the charity, while celebrating six years volunteering with the helicopter rescue service.

Mr Wilson is tasked with opening the mail and banking the funds, among other duties with the charity’s Spring Appeal – hitting letterboxes this week – making this Mr Wilson’s 25th appeal.

Last year was a record year for RACQ LifeFlight Rescue with almost 5500 people saved. Nearly 30 per cent of operating costs are raised by the community and by volunteers, like Mr Wilson. “We get little notes in the mail from supporters and past patients. It’s really touching when you hear the stories of people we’ve helped save.

“It’s humbling to look back on my past six years and see I contributed, in some small way, to saving nearly 27,000 lives in that time by volunteering.”