Five-year-old pediatric oncology patient to be surprised in style at Mall of America® with backyard playset built by Shady Rays, Roc Solid Foundation

In partnership with the Roc Solid Foundation, Shady Rays’ team of volunteers will construct a backyard playset for a Minneapolis-area child undergoing cancer treatment

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (June 20, 2024) – Shady Rays will construct a custom backyard playset for five-year-old Ryan, a pediatric oncology patient who is currently undergoing treatment at Children’s Minnesota for a Wilms tumor. Ryan, along with his two younger siblings will be surprised in style on Tuesday, June 25 at the Mall of America North Entrance with their newly constructed backyard playset. This will be the first playset build event hosted by Shady Rays and Roc Solid in the state of Minnesota.

A team of Shady Rays leadership, Roc Solid Foundation CEO & Chief Play Officer Eric Newman, and hard-working volunteers will be on-site in front of the Mall of America’s North Entrance from 9:00 a.m. - Noon on Tuesday, June 25. The playset build will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the family will arrive in style via limousine for their surprise reveal around 11:00 a.m.

The playset construction project for Ryan is part of Shady Rays Impact - the company’s philanthropic giving initiative aimed at supporting the communities in which their employees work and live. Roc Solid Foundation is a cornerstone nonprofit partner to the Impact program. Their goal is to build hope for families through the power of play and to create some normalcy for families whose regular activities have been replaced with doctor’s appointments and treatments.

“The Shady Rays team and I have really been looking forward to this day - when we can surprise Ryan and his family with such a special gift,” Shady Rays Founder + CEO Chris Ratterman said. “Alongside Roc Solid, we’re able to provide Ryan, his siblings, and his family with the healing power of outdoor play, right in his own backyard.”

Shady Rays also partners with Roc Solid as an official Ready Bag and playset partner for the state of Minnesota. This year in the United States, Roc Solid is projected to provide 4,500 Ready Bags and 240 playsets. In the past year, the organization has served nearly 100 children in Minnesota through both our Ready Bag and playset program.

“When a child is diagnosed with cancer, one of the first things taken away is the opportunity to play as kids often cannot play in public spaces or with friends,” said Newman. “Backyard playsets not only provide kids with safe, germ-free places to play, but they also provide an escape from their harsh reality of fighting cancer. We want to let families know they are not alone.”

The volunteer activation is part of Shady Rays Impact - the company’s philanthropic giving initiative aimed at supporting the communities in which their employees work and live.

“It’s going to be magic to have Ryan and his family be surprised with such an essential piece of backyard play - something we know is fundamental to his healing process,” Ratterman said. “Thanks to the Roc Solid Foundation, we’re able to support Ryan and dozens of other kids like him across the state who are battling such a life-altering diagnosis.”

To learn more about Shady Rays Impact, visit ShadyRays.com/Impact and follow us on Meta, TikTok and Twitter @shadyrays.

About Shady Rays
Shady Rays is an independent sunglass company and one of the fastest-growing sunglasses brands in the U.S. All shades are made with high-quality, polarized lenses in a variety of sunglass frame styles and every purchase goes towards making an impact in our communities through Shady Rays Impact charitable giving. All purchases come with the Shady Rays Limited Lifetime Craftsmanship Warranty and Lost & Broken protection. Shady Rays also sells high-quality lifestyle gear including Snow Goggles, UV Shirts, Prescription glasses, Blue Light Glasses, and more. To learn more about Shady Rays and to stay up to date on all the action, visit shadyrays.com and follow us on Meta, TikTok, and Twitter @shadyrays. Live hard. We got you.