Father and son bond through volunteering with young patients: 'It's the highlight of my week' Ian and Ben Rattray volunteer with the LauraLynn children's hospice on Sunday mornings. They talk about the friendships they have forged and how the experience has brought them closer Ian Rattray with his …
Father and son bond through volunteering with young patients: 'It's the highlight of my week'
Ian and Ben Rattray volunteer with the LauraLynn children's hospice on Sunday mornings. They talk about the friendships they have forged and how the experience has brought them closer Ian Rattray with his son Ben, who both volunteer with Laura Lynn in Dublin.
Ben, 22, who began volunteering 10 months ago, says: "If it's nice weather, we play outside with the kids. Some are in a wheelchair. A lot of them just like to walk around. With the more mobile, we play hide-and-seek — chase them around. And if the weather isn't nice, we might read a story to them."
"Dad was doing it years before me. I got into it, seeing what he was doing. It's probably the highlight of my week. I have a lot of fun doing it; in a sense, it brings me back to my childhood." Ben, a final-year computer-science student at University College Dublin, acknowledges that his dad is "the funny one" in the family.
"I can also take a step back and see how Ben is interacting with the kids and how he has grown up and matured. And then going home in the car, we're often having a good chat about it and a laugh. "You don't see many younger volunteers across different areas: I think it's good for Ben." Ian, who works in banking, had never heard of LauraLynn until about four years ago, when his company was supporting the charity over a two-year period.
"It wasn't until a St Patrick's Day parade in the grounds of LauraLynn a few months later that Ian "got to see some of the kids and families", as well as volunteers cheering on the children. "We could see how the kids were enjoying it." Ian's company bought tickets for LauraLynn's Heroes' Ball — the charity's annual fundraising gala — later that year.
Father and son bond through volunteering with young patients: 'It's the highlight of my week'
Ian Rattray with his son Ben: Ian says: "You don't see many younger volunteers across different areas: I think it's good for Ben."
"We ended up hanging out; just playing. It was fun, and eye-opening to realise how much they enjoyed the company, someone to interact with. They just wanted to play. I spoke to the volunteer co-ordinator, and that's how the Sunday mornings started. "
"Ben and I have met the same children on a number of occasions and we've formed a bond: They recognise us and we recognise them."
Each of the men has had his own special moments as a volunteer. Ben recalls recently arranging for any trucks or cars entering LauraLynn's grounds to blow their horn for the benefit of a child who loves the sound — and letting the same child ring the hospice's bell. "You could see he was really enjoying it. It seemed like an ordinary moment, but it was very special."
For Ian, the LauraLynn Oscars — where movies created by children and families are 'premiered' — is just "amazing" to see. He has been to the most recent two. "The whole black-tie affair, the stories the kids film; and we get to chauffeur them around, escort them to their seats, cheer them on; it's unbelievable."
Ian is always impressed by the LauraLynn staff. "They all work as a team. You walk in, and you see it: Everyone has a goal; they know what they're there for. And the stories you hear from the people who both work and volunteer there. It would encourage anyone to volunteer."
Both father and son get a lot back from volunteering. "I feel kind of uplifted by it. I'm in a good mood for the rest of the day," says Ben. For Ian, it's grounding. "It makes me wake up to what I have, how lucky I am."
