On our Voice board
At Young Lives vs Cancer, we’re passionate about making sure the voices of children, young people, and their parents with lived experience of cancer are at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we developed our Voice Board, bringing together members of our community to help drive what we do as a charity.
This year’s Voice Board recruitment has now closed. You can find out more about our Voice work and other ways to get involved here.
Enkay, Voice Board memberI enjoy being able to share my experiences openly and be listened to and learn about other people’s varied experiences that I wouldn’t have known about if I didn’t meet them on the Voice Board. By meeting and sharing my experiences with Trustees, it was good to see that they valued our stories and that our work was helping to make change within the organisation.”
What is the Voice Board?
The Voice Board helps Young Lives vs Cancer’s Trustees and Directors to make decisions about the charity. Our Trustees guide our work and are responsible for the direction of the organisation. They’re all volunteers, from a range of backgrounds and careers and give their time for free to help families face everything cancer throws at them. We want our Trustees to be informed by the most important people to the organisation, those with lived experience of cancer.
You don’t need lots of professional experience for this role, it’s about bringing your experiences of cancer to help ensure we are doing our best for our community. Whether you are a young person, sibling, parent, or carer, we hope that by being part of the team you will be able to build your confidence and learn new skills, connecting with others who’ve been affected by cancer.
The role of Voice Board member is a two-year position after which you will be able to get involved in our voice work in different ways such as our Voice Hub. We open recruitment annually so we can gain fresh perspectives and existing Voice Board members can support new members coming onto the team. We currently have a team of 13 members made up of young people, parents, siblings, including bereaved families. This round of recruitment will be for our third group of Voice Board Members.
We are one team and want to ensure we include a diverse range of experiences within our Voice Board. Understanding the different needs and any potential barriers to support is hugely important, and we need a broad range of voices to represent the wider community and influence our work. Therefore, we’d especially encourage applications from:
- Siblings
- Bereaved parents/carers and siblings
- Parents and carers
- Young people and their families from minoritised ethnic communities
- Young people and families from devolved the nations and northern England
- Males
- Young people and their families with experiences of neurodivergence
To apply to join the Voice Board you must meet the following criteria:
- Be aged over 16
- Been diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 0-24, or are a parent/ carer or sibling of a young person who was diagnosed between the ages of 0-24
- Be happy to commit to the role for two years
- Be happy to attend each of the quarterly Voice Board meetings, including two face-to-face events each year with the option to join remotely if needed
- Be happy to attend monthly online meetings and ad hoc events or share feedback through surveys and email to support different projects when you can (approximately once per month)
- Be able to attend an induction meeting for new members in Bristol on Wednesday 12th November. If you are unable to attend this meeting in person but would like to apply for the Voice Board, we would still love to hear from you. Please get in touch with our Voice Team at voice@younglivesvccancer.org.uk to discuss alternatives.
What will you be doing as a member of the Voice Board?
- Attending Voice Board Meetings four times a year to discuss issues of strategic importance to the organisation and those we work with
- Joining optional online monthly meetings to discuss key projects and areas of work
- Collaborating with other Voice Board members and staff across the organisation, using your experiences to help create change
- Providing honest feedback and bringing lived experience to Trustees and Directors to influence decisions that impact young people and their families affected by cancer
- Speaking out about the issues you’re passionate about that affect children, young people, and their families
- Working in partnership with the Voice Team to develop our voice work, ensuring young people and their families are at the heart of everything we do
- Taking part in face-to-face training in person twice a year, connecting with other Voice Board members and staff across the organisation. All travel and accommodation is provided and our team will discuss any additional support you might need such as bringing a loved one for support or joining remotely when on treatment
- Taking part in ad hoc opportunities to shape our work across the charity. There are loads of opportunities available from sharing your story to shaping services and systems. You can get involved in a way that fits your time, interests, and energy
- Helping us understand the effectiveness of the Voice Board by taking part in monitoring and evaluation by providing regular feedback
What’s in it for you?
During your time on the Voice Board our team will support you to:
- Be listened to and taken seriously
- Influence the decisions made at Young Lives vs Cancer
- Raise issues you feel are important for other young people and parents/ carers using our services
- Meet new people and become part of a welcoming and supportive team
- Learn from others’ cancer experiences and gain new insight
- Take part in different experiences and opportunities
- Expand your knowledge and your CV
- Gain access to training and support
- Build your skills and confidence
Maisy joined the Voice Board following the death of her brother Frank. As a sibling member of the Voice Board she shares why it was important for her to get involved.
Take a look at our Voice Board in action:
Frequently asked questions
No you don’t have to have received a service from Young Lives vs Cancer. We ask that you have lived experience of cancer as a young person or as a parent/carer of a child/young person who has lived experience of cancer.
Voice Board members need to be 16 plus as there is some independent travel to do. We will be looking at ways we can hear the views of children and young people of all ages in future. If you would like to ask about other ways you can be involved please email voice@younglivesvscancer.org.uk
We ask all Voice Board members to commit to attending the 4 online voice board meetings and 2 in person training events each year. There are also optional monthly online meetings and we’ll work with the Voice Board to understand which days/times work best for these through regular polls.
We understand that sometimes things happen that might mean you are no longer able to attend previous commitments – in which case we just need to hear from you, so we can do our best to feed in your views. Our Voice Team is here to support you so whatever you might need, just let us know.
We know some of you might need some support to travel or to have materials in an accessible format. On the application form we ask about your needs as we recognise all of us need support in different ways. Please fill in the application with any information that it would be helpful for us to know about your support needs.
You will receive an induction day that will give you a chance to learn about the wider organisation, meet others and staff supporting you and 3 further training events over the 2 years. There will also be optional monthly meetings as a means to share information and offer support. Our Voice Team is also here to help and you can contact us with any queries.
We’d love to hear from you! We know that things change over time and your experience and insight will be really valuable in helping us understand how we can best support young people and their families.
The Voice Board member role is not paid, as it forms part of Young Lives vs Cancer’s governance. However, individuals will not be left out of pocket-travel and subsistence are either pre-arranged by staff or reimbursed promptly. The time and commitment of Voice Board members is recognised and support is tailored to individual needs.
Unfortunately, our current recruitment is not open to partners. At the moment, places on the Voice Board are limited, and our focus so far has been on young people and their parents. Last year, we expanded to include siblings, and we’re continuing to learn and grow from that experience. Based on enquiries we have received this year, we will be exploring this with our Board for next year’s recruitment. In the meantime we welcome partners to sign up to our Voice Hub and hear about all the ways they can share their voice.
Please reach out to our Voice Team if you’d like to discuss this further voice@younglivesvscancer.org.uk
Read more about the work of our voice board
Our Voice Board