{"id":96073,"date":"2024-06-21T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/?p=96073"},"modified":"2024-06-19T19:38:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T09:38:19","slug":"a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"A lift and a laugh make a difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

ROYAL Flying Doctor Service Community Transport volunteer Mark Jeavons was moved to tears at the end of one of his first shifts.<\/p>\n

He had just taken a woman who was undergoing daily cancer treatment to Bendigo.<\/p>\n

“When I dropped her off, she thanked me and said that because of the community transport she would be able to eat that night,” Mr Jeavons said.<\/p>\n

“The cost of commercial transport to and from Bendigo each day would far exceed her pension and by us taking her to appointments she would be able to purchase food.<\/p>\n

“I was humbled but I slept well that night knowing my efforts as a volunteer were making a difference.<\/p>\n

“That’s why I continue to do it.”<\/p>\n

Mr Jeavons has been volunteering two days each week with the Royal Flying Doctors Community Transport for five years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“There’s a great reward at the end of the day in the satisfaction of knowing I’ve helped someone,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I also work on call for Blue Wren and previously worked in warehousing in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

“I’ve always wanted to volunteer. Many of my family members have volunteered for different organisations.<\/p>\n

“I wanted to do something different, something of my own, so when I read about the need for community transport drivers, I contacted them.<\/p>\n

“I’m glad I did.”<\/p>\n

Mr Jeavons, like all the volunteer drivers, tries to make the trips as enjoyable as possible, knowing many of the clients can be nervous about the tests they need.<\/p>\n

“I always welcome them to my office when they get into the car,” he said. “We go to different locations so there’s always something to see.<\/p>\n

“I laugh sometimes because a teacher when I was at school once told me I’d never get anywhere staring out the window. That teacher was my mother!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“I have a repertoire of bad dad jokes and when clients ask how they can thank me I tell them it’s payment in full to see them laugh.”<\/p>\n

The Royal Flying Doctors Service Victoria recently launched their Moon & Back Appeal to raise funds to help Australians who live, work and travel in rural and regional areas.<\/p>\n

“The figures are staggering,” said Mr Jeavons.<\/p>\n

“As well as the community transport service, the RFDS fleet flies around 28 million kilometres every year to provide urgent care, support, and vital health services.<\/p>\n

“It’s the equivalent of 34 trips to the moon and back. I was stunned when I read those figures.<\/p>\n

“The service relies on donations and fundraising.”<\/p>\n

Anyone who would like to donate to the Flying Doctor Service Moon & Back Appeal can go to donate.rfdsvic.org.au\/moon-and-back<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“If anyone wants to donate specifically to community transport, we have special envelopes in each car,” said Mr Jeavons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ROYAL Flying Doctor Service Community Transport volunteer Mark Jeavons was moved to tears at the end of one of his first shifts. He had just taken a woman who was undergoing daily cancer treatment to Bendigo. “When I dropped her off, she thanked me and said that because of the community transport she would be […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":215,"featured_media":96077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-96073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA lift and a laugh make a difference - McIvor Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore how Royal Flying Doctor Service Community Transport changes lives! 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Volunteer Mark Jeavons shares heartfelt stories from his essential journeys.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"McIvor Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2024\/06\/Untitled-design-31.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandra James\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandra James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sandra James\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a0c5b31d59e28a69f8971339b37c030\"},\"headline\":\"A lift and a laugh make a difference\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":471,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/25\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/Untitled-design-31.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/\",\"name\":\"A lift and a laugh make a difference - McIvor Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mcivortimes\\\/news\\\/a-lift-and-a-laugh-make-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/25\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/Untitled-design-31.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore how Royal Flying Doctor Service Community Transport changes lives! 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