Date published: 14 April 2026 by Pauline Bolt
"My name is Laura and 5 months ago I joined Rainbow Trust as a Family Support Volunteer. The first time I ever became aware of Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity was on a hospital ward, in the playroom. I was still reeling from the news that my eight-year-old daughter had just been diagnosed with a type of bone cancer. I was scared, confused, and trying to assess how this diagnosis would affect my daughter and the rest of our family."
"Rainbow Trust was an unknown charity to me; I wasn’t aware of what they did nor how specially they could impact my life. What started off as a cup of tea, biscuit, and someone to listen to us - became a life-changing support for me and my daughter. If someone had asked me back then what the future would look like I could not have said, we lived very much day to day sometimes hour by hour. Things with my daughter’s treatment were constantly changing and all this uncertainty was what lead to a lot of the stress/anxiety. This is where Rainbow Trust was a life-changing support. My daughter had weekly visits from a Family Support Worker and having this weekly space to create a slight routine for us really helped. At home poorly or having treatment in hospital, our Family Support Worker ended up being like a member of the family. It was seeing just how crucial this support was, in some ways more than some of the traditional support offered, that got me thinking how I would like to give back. If I could reflect on what it was like being back in that situation, how I had felt and what I had needed, maybe I could support someone, and in hand give back to the charity."
"My role in Rainbow Trust as a Family Support Volunteer can be very varied depending on the needs & requirements of the family I am supporting. Normally a session can last anything up to a few hours. If I can and the family want me to, I like to do this on a weekly basis. Continuity seems to be very important at a time where a family may have very little of that. Week on week what I do may change, its tailor made to the family. One week I may be supporting the siblings of the seriously ill child, playing games, colouring and watching TV. Another week I could be listening to mum, talking about something that’s been bothering her, being an emotional support. I try not to have an expectation of how the session will go. I am led by what the family would like to do or what they need. As I know from experience sometimes, they may not even be aware of this themselves!!"
"The main challenge I find from the role is the desire to want to do more. The empathy I have runs deep, having struggled with having a child with a life-threatening illness myself and previously dreamt of being a counsellor. It can be a lonely time and having someone there is a completely invaluable resource. I hope to continue volunteering for the foreseeable future. I have really enjoyed being part of something bigger, a community that the charity brings."
"Though my time with Rainbow Trust is short, the support and training I have received has helped me immensely with lots of transferable skills. I hope to be able to use these and build on them for many years to come."