Young Lives vs Cancer

Who we are

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world (and their family’s) can feel like it’s falling apart. They need special treatment because their cancer is different to adults’, they can only be treated in certain hospitals, and they often travel miles and miles to get there.

The impact of cancer on young lives is far more than medical. Their anxieties are deep. Their education, mental health and social lives suffer. Their futures feel very uncertain.

Young Lives vs Cancer is the only charity in the UK with specialist social workers dedicated to providing tailored psychosocial support to children and young people with cancer, and their families.

We stop at nothing to make their voices heard and their unique needs understood, so they can get the right care and support at the right time. ​​​​​​

Our culture and values

Bravery

Transparency and accountability

We will be open about how we work, what we achieve and the challenges we face. We will make it eas(ier) for beneficiaries and supporters to hold us to account.

Challenge and candour

We will have the right conversations at the right time, and they will be real and authentic. We will be quicker than we are now to challenge each other, and make sure we hear new and different views. 

Integrity

Environmental sustainability

We will create a starting point by understanding where we are, our ecological impact and what we need to do to become an environmentally sustainable organisation.

Participation and voice

We will start to work in a more empowering way than we do now, by co-designing and co-producing with our beneficiaries, and we will increase their voice in our governance. We will begin to engage with diverse voices across the UK, and respond to how the cancer experience is changing.

Confidence

A new ambition

We will get everyone behind a new way of communicating the difference we make, generating excitement for what we can achieve. Everyone will be clear about our core purpose, what we need to do and why we are here.

Suited to the now

We will continue to improve on our ability to navigate an uncertain environment; accepting that we won’t know what is just round the corner and adapting to become more flexible and open to changing priorities. Our spending will reflect this, while still being able to innovate in response to what we are seeing externally.

One team

Celebration, resilience and community

We know we make the difference we make with people, so looking after ourselves and others is critical. The resilience and wellbeing of everyone in the Young Lives vs Cancer community will remain of paramount importance.

We will become stronger by building this community, raising up new voices and working together to achieve our goals.

Volunteering

Volunteers will be recognised and equally valued alongside employed colleagues. They will be integrated in the ways in which we deliver care and support for children, young people and families.

Volunteers will be an intentional part of our ambition, structure and workforce, having meaningful impact which will be driven, supported and facilitated by people across the organisation. The voice and expertise of volunteers will be trusted, respected and celebrated.

Overcoming obstacles

We will notice and reduce hierarchy and power dynamics where they are creating barriers for people. We will get information flowing, and continue to make communication as easy as it can be.

We will continue to seek external collaboration and partnerships recognising that there is so much we could achieve if we had more and stronger partnerships and we will take those opportunities.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

We will start to make active choices and changes to improve our diversity and prioritise equity. We will begin our journey on ensuring that our culture is inclusive of everyone who works, volunteers and interacts with us, the goal being that people will feel like they truly belong here, whoever they are.

To find out more please visit: -

https://www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/diversity-inclusion-equity-and-belonging/#introducing-our-deib-strategy