“Localise Youth Volunteering x CanTeen unite for Refugee Children”

             In a stunning display of youth initiative and compassion, Localise Youth Volunteering
and CanTeen partnered together on June 21 st , 2025 to coordinate a fun-filled day for young
adults living with cancer. Additionally, as part of the event, they also assembled backpacks
for refugee children in Ireland that were separated from their families. Each backpack not
only contained essentials and other goods, but also heartfelt hand-written letters and
messages from the children at the event. As such, the event brought together two
communities faced with distinct hardships and showcased the importance of unity and
compassion within Ireland.

               Localise Youth Volunteering is the national Irish youth volunteering organization with branches all around the country such as Dublin, Clondalkin, and Castleknock that aims to empower all young people to be able to make a meaningful difference within their community. As such, they have organized many projects targeted at making a positive change in a wide range of aspects in society, from volunteering at elderly homes to creating care packages for hospital workers in both the Mater Hospital and Temple Street Children’s Hospital. During this event, they chose to partner with CanTeen, a nation-wide support group with the mission to support, develop, and empower young individuals between the ages of 12 to 25 who have or have had cancer. CanTeen holds regular activities and support meetings throughout the year that help these young adults battling cancer realize that they are not alone, and provides them with a strong community that supports them throughout difficult times. 

               The day started off with icebreaker events, which gave the young adults with shared goals in both organizations an opportunity to make life-long friends and get to know each other. During this time, I was introduced to the wonderful individuals in the CanTeen group, which included an aspiring medical student and another young adult with hopes of becoming a musician. After the icebreakers, we all gathered together to create the backpacks for the refugee children that were forcibly relocated to Ireland. We split into two groups – with one group responsible for organizing and assembling the backpacks filled with goods and necessities, and the other group responsible for crafting hand-written decorated letters filled with warm and compassionate messages for the under-privileged refugee children. On their own initiative, these young adults who have faced much adversity on their own still worked tirelessly and passionately to help others going through adversity themselves – a truly warming and heartfelt moment which showcased how youth-led initiatives can really make a substantial impact on the broader community in promoting empathy, compassion, and humanity during these troubling times. 

               Soon after, the two groups gathered together to do a fun treasure hunt on the DCU St. Patrick’s campus. The treasure hunt included fun games such as “identify the song”, a TikTok video competition, and a party hat competition in which the winning groups of these mini-games received prizes at the end of the competition. After the treasure hunt, the event came to an end, and the young adults were free to spend time together playing board games and Nintendo switch in the event room. 

               More than just a one-day event, this event reflected the importance of community and the need to help under-served communities within Ireland. In line with both Localise Youth Volunteering and CanTeen’s initiative, this event served as a reminder that all people – regardless of age or disease – have the ability to create meaningful acts of compassion to those in need through simple acts of kindness. 

Acknowledgements

               I would like to thank all of the staff in Localise Youth Volunteering who gave me the opportunity to contribute to this event. I would also like to thank the Laidlaw Foundation for sponsoring my leadership-in-action project which allowed me to contribute to this event. 

Samuel Yap – Laidlaw Student, Trinity College Dublin

https://twitter.com/LocaliseYouth/status/1937482405759299918