{"id":621827,"date":"2026-09-11T21:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/621827\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T21:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:54:15","slug":"father-and-son-bond-through-volunteering-with-young-patients-its-the-highlight-of-my-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/621827\/","title":{"rendered":"Father and son bond through volunteering with young patients: ‘It’s the highlight of my week’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ian and Ben Rattray are booked up on Sunday mornings. That\u2019s when the Kiltiernan, Co Dublin-based father and son spend a couple of hours volunteering at LauraLynn, Ireland\u2019s children\u2019s hospice.<\/p>\n

Ben, 22, who began volunteering 10 months ago, says: \u201cIf it\u2019s 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 \u2014 chase them around. And if the weather isn\u2019t nice, we might read a story to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDad was doing it years before me. I got into it, seeing what he was doing. It\u2019s probably the highlight of my week. I have a lot of fun doing it; in a sense, it brings me back to my childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben, a final-year computer-science student at University College Dublin, acknowledges that his dad is \u201cthe funny one\u201d in the family. \u201cHe was always very good with us \u2014 my sister and me \u2014 and you could see he really enjoyed spending time with kids. So, at LauraLynn, he\u2019ll be the one pretending to steal the children\u2019s noses and falling over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian, 53, whose daughter, Izzy, is 21, says the Sunday morning hours volunteering with Ben at LauraLynn are a great bonding time. \u201cI 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\u2019re often having a good chat about it and a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t see many younger volunteers across different areas: I think it\u2019s good for Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. \u201cAt work, we get volunteer days and we\u2019re encouraged to take those days. So they let us know the ask: That LauraLynn was looking for volunteers to paint and decorate the windows for Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect\u2026 We ended up drawing snowmen and Santas and elves, anything to brighten up the building to show Christmas was on the way. It was fun; a great day. We got a tour and heard about the history of LauraLynn, what it does, and how and why it was formed.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until a St Patrick\u2019s Day parade in the grounds of LauraLynn a few months later that Ian \u201cgot to see some of the kids and families\u201d, as well as volunteers cheering on the children. \u201cWe could see how the kids were enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian\u2019s company bought tickets for LauraLynn\u2019s Heroes\u2019 Ball \u2014 the charity\u2019s annual fundraising gala \u2014 later that year. \u201cThat\u2019s where we really got to hear more stories and to see the contribution others were giving to LauraLynn, in terms of the auction, the entertainment. I reached out directly to LauraLynn then. I wasn\u2019t sure how I could volunteer or what the opportunities were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Ian Rattray with his son Ben: Ian says: \u201cYou don\u2019t see many younger volunteers across different areas: I think it\u2019s good for Ben.\u201d Picture: Moya Nolan<\/p>\n

His volunteering debut at LauraLynn was cleaning its disability vehicles at weekends, until, one day, going into the hospice to collect car keys, he met one of the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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\u2019s how the Sunday mornings started.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen and I have met the same children on a number of occasions and we\u2019ve formed a bond: They recognise us and we recognise them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously a volunteer on the support line of a mental-health charity, Ian says LauraLynn just \u201cfelt like I was in the right place to volunteer: It was more face-to-face; it drew me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Each of the men has had his own special moments as a volunteer. Ben recalls recently arranging for any trucks or cars entering LauraLynn\u2019s grounds to blow their horn for the benefit of a child who loves the sound \u2014 and letting the same child ring the hospice\u2019s bell. \u201cYou could see he was really enjoying it. It seemed like an ordinary moment, but it was very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ian, the LauraLynn Oscars \u2014 where movies created by children and families are \u2018premiered\u2019 \u2014 is just \u201camazing\u201d to see. He has been to the most recent two. \u201cThe 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\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian is always impressed by the LauraLynn staff. \u201cThey all work as a team. You walk in, and you see it: Everyone has a goal; they know what they\u2019re there for. And the stories you hear from the people who both work and volunteer there. It would encourage anyone to volunteer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both father and son get a lot back from volunteering. \u201cI feel kind of uplifted by it. I\u2019m in a good mood for the rest of the day,\u201d says Ben.<\/p>\n

For Ian, it\u2019s grounding. \u201cIt makes me wake up to what I have, how lucky I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

LauraLynn provides vital care and support to children with life-limiting conditions and their families across Ireland. As the country\u2019s only children\u2019s hospice provider, the charity offers symptom-management, short breaks, end-of-life care, family support and bereavement services, delivered in LauraLynn House, in hospitals, in local communities, and in family homes.<\/p>\n

LauraLynn relies primarily on fundraising income to provide its services free to families. \u201cVolunteers are the heart of our team in LauraLynn, helping to enhance the services we provide,\u201d says a spokesperson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ian and Ben Rattray are booked up on Sunday mornings. That\u2019s when the Kiltiernan, Co Dublin-based father and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[26054,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-621827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health-life","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}