Youth Advisory Group
Young people with cancer are at the heart of Teenage Cancer Trust. Their voices and experiences inform all our key decisions.
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We launched our first ever Youth Advisory Group (YAG) in 2018 so that we could learn from the expertise and experience of young people diagnosed with cancer aged 13-24, to help make sure we’re giving them the best support we can.
Since then we have had two more cohorts of the Youth Advisory Group who have played a key part in helping the charity to adapt and develop its work at a time when new ways of working were required.
The third Youth Advisory Group will be finishing at the end of this year and we will be recruiting for the next cohort from 1 October 2024. This group will start working together in January 2025 and will be part of the group until December 2026. You can apply by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.
What is the Youth Advisory Group?
The group is made up of approximately 30 young people who have been diagnosed with cancer, or had cancer treatment. They all joined because they wanted to make a difference for young people like themselves.
It is vital to listen, learn and be advised by experts who know what it is like to be a young person dealing cancer and cancer treatment. They don’t just tell us what they think – they directly shape the support we provide to young people.
These young people are involved in critical activities, such as helping recruit members of our Senior Leadership Team, creating our strategy and shaping our policy work. And that’s on top of things like helping us engage with more young people, develop peer support projects and helping to make our services even better across the UK.
Membership of Youth Advisory Group also provides opportunities for developing new skills and confidence as part of a supportive group of young people who can use their similarities and different experiences to advise the charity and ensure that we are being as inclusive as possible.
In addition, being part of the Youth Advisory Group means young people get to develop their teamwork, communication and creative skills by coming up with ideas, giving feedback and working alongside different people from Teenage Cancer Trust including our Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team and colleagues from across the charity.
The Youth Advisory Group has allowed me to gain confidence with speaking to new people and making connections I never would have had the opportunity to have.
Who can be in the Youth Advisory Group?
We’re looking for young people who:
were diagnosed with cancer or had cancer treatment between the ages of 13-24 years old*
had finished treatment by October 2024 and be within two years post treatment - you can apply if you’re on maintenance treatment
are well enough to engage with meetings - mainly online with some in-person opportunities which are not compulsory
*If you are under 18 you will need consent from a parent or guardian to take part in this group, and they will need to accompany you to any in-person events
You can find more information in the role description and FAQs below:
What will I be doing as a member?
The role lasts for two years – from January 2025 to December 2026.
There will be lots of different things you can get involved with during your time on YAG, including:
opportunities to meet online monthly, either to contribute to projects from different teams across the organisation or for a social
a minimum of one in-person residential meeting during your two-year membership of the group*
working with senior members of staff to give your ideas, insights and feedback on the work we’re doing and how we can better support young people with cancer. For example, attending Senior Leadership and Board of Trustees meetings
you’ll have the opportunity to get a close insight of the inner workings of the organisation and we will provide training to make sure you can maximise these opportunities
*Teenage Cancer Trust will always pay for any travel and accommodation needed to make sure these opportunities are equally available to all members
We can’t predict exactly what tasks, topics and opportunities the group will have during their time together, but previous projects have included:
- Involvement in Teenage Cancer Trust’s strategy
- Development work on Teenage Cancer Trust’s core values: DETERMINED, UNITED, SPIRITED, KIND
- Involvement in recruitment of senior staff at Teenage Cancer Trust
- Short term project work in small groups with external partners
- Involvement in our Safeguarding Review
- Presentations at our Staff Days
- Feeding into our Annual Report
- Presentation and feedback to our Board of Trustees
- Being a supportive member of a motivated and inclusive group who achieve great things
Key dates
Applications open: Tuesday 1 October
The application form shouldn’t take too long to complete. You’ll need to fill in some personal details about yourself and your diagnosis. Then we’ll ask you two answer three questions about YAG and why you’d like to be part of the group - you don’t need to write lots for these answers, a couple of sentences is fine but we do ask that you write less than 500 words.
Applications close: Friday 18 October (midnight)
We will get back to you with more information on your application by 28 October.
I really feel listened to, and it’s amazing seeing our suggestions become reality for the charity – I can’t wait to see what else we can do.