Volunteer Focus – Trish McGraw
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Trish has always found joy in the ocean and mountains.
With a fourth-grade teacher for a mother, Trish visited the library often, making reading an important part of her life. Today, she enjoys nonfiction and audiobooks, finding that reading builds empathy and tolerance by offering different perspectives. Trish spent her career as a registered nurse in the ER, ICU, burn unit, and hospice. She preferred jobs in vacation destinations and later earned a master’s degree in psychology, which often led colleagues to call on her during difficult emotional situations. This work put life’s troubles in perspective, as every day brought a new challenge.
Her love of snow skiing and snowshoeing led her to South Lake Tahoe. After twenty years there, she and her wife Michelle traded snow shoveling for the beaches of Hawaii, where she had family.
Trish moved to Kailua-Kona in December 2019 and quickly became involved with snorkeling, paddling, kayaking, and pickleball communities. Soon after arriving, she began volunteering with F.O.L.K., accepting and sorting donated books weekly for the monthly book sales. When COVID made gathering difficult, sorting moved outdoors so Trish could continue working with other volunteers at a safe distance.
Today, Trish delivers 300 to 500 donated books that are not suitable for our book sales to the bookcases at Denny’s Restaurant and Old Airport. Trish stays active in the LGBTQIA community and also brings donated books to “My Bar. Each week, she spends hours helping a young mother care for her 31⁄2-year-old daughter, Lili, who has become Trish and Michelle’s “hanai” or chosen grandchild, bringing them much love, joy and laughter.