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 is now closed but will open again in the summer. You can find out more about our Voice work and other ways to get involved here. If you have any questions or would like to know more please contact our Voice Team voice@younglivesvscancer.org.uk
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 or parent 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 2 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 are able to gain fresh perspectives and existing voice board members have the opportunity to support new members coming into the team.
We are one team and want to ensure we include a diverse range of experiences within our Voice Board of young people and their families from across the UK. We’d especially encourage applications from;
- Siblings
- Bereaved parents
- Parents of younger children
- Young people and their families from minoritised ethnic communities
- Young people and their families with experience of being several years post treatment
- Young people and their families with experiences of neurodivergence
- Young people with or who have had cancer and their families who haven’t accessed Young Lives vs Cancer services.
To apply to join the Voice Board you must meet the following criteria:
- Be aged over 16
- 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 2 years
- Be happy to commit to attending the quarterly meetings and two in person events each year.
What will you be doing as a member of the Voice Board?
- Attending online Voice Board Meetings 4 times a year to discuss issues of strategic importance to the organisation and those we work with as well as optional online monthly meetings.
- 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.
- Taking part in ad hoc opportunities to shape our work across the charity
- 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/parents 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
Voice Board member Emma talks about her involvement
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.
Read more about the work of our voice board
Our Voice Board