Sound Waves

Ever wondered what happens at one of our volunteer training days? Here to tell you everything about 2024's training event, which was held towards the end of March in Birmingham, are Volunteer & Team Development Manager Krissi and newly anointed Luke Gilbert Volunteer of the Year Martin.  They tell us everything from the vibes on the day to what they got out of it, and about the importance...

About a year ago, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust launched Bigger Impact, Brighter Futures - Our Ambitions 2023-2025. So, how are we doing? Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust CEO Frank Fletcher, Communications Manager Karenza, and Operations Manager in Largs James chat about the last 12 months, what progress has been made on the Ambitions, and what the future has in store.  These Ambitions help us keep...

Since Hana was diagnosed with cancer, since she came sailing with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, life has been a whirlwind.  On this episode of Sound Waves, she talks about her passion for environmentalism and how her diagnosis made her think of the Earth’s ill health too. In the last few years, she has been a voice of youth at international conferences, including the COPs. She tells us about t...

At the end of a trip, some young people talk to us about their week.  We ask them about their time with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, how it’s helped, what they’ll take with them.  Their words are all over our website, our social media, Inspire magazine, and everything we do.  The voices of young people are essential in telling the story of the Trust. They are the reason for everything we do. ...

You might have seen that Dame Ellen MacArthur, our patron and founder, recently met up with a young woman called Maxine, who was part of the first ever Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust sailing adventure 20 years ago in 2003.  She was just 10 at the time, and now she’s reunited with Ellen ahead of her 31st birthday. This episode, in celebration of the Trust's 20th anniversary, is their conversatio...

Happy Pride month! It's important to understand how someone's cancer diagnosis intersects with their LGBTQ identity. Both are significant, both have their own communities, and there are bridges that can be built between the two.  Three Trust graduate volunteers - Amelia, Ivans, Louise - share their experiences with cancer and being part of the LGBTQ community, and why taking people as th...

Our ‘Build Belonging’ Ambition says we will ‘be visible, relevant and accessible to every young person who has a cancer diagnosis in the UK and be somewhere every one feels they belong.’  It is so important young people feel they belong when they come on a Trust adventure. But what does 'belonging' mean? It is hard to put your finger on. You know it when you feel it, and we seek it out i...

It's the Trust's 20th birthday in July. What better reason to sit down with CEO Frank Fletcher, who's been involved since day 1, and have a gab about the last 20 years.  From supporting five young people in 2003, to over 700 in 2023, so much has happened, so much has changed, and we talk all about it here. It's the longest episode in Sound Waves history, yet it could have been...

Trip season is upon us! It goes without saying, but we cannot wait.  In this episode, Luke and Heather reflect on their first-time trips, while looking forward to returning this summer for Round the Island Race.  What difference have sailing trips made to their lives so far? Why do they want to come back for more? How does it feel being on the water with others who are 'in the same boat'...

What we do and the difference we make aren't the same thing. Sailing is lovely, but at the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, we want young people to feel better at the end of their time with us than they did at the start. That's what impact is.  Joining us in this episode are Omar and Jess. Omar came on his first four-day sailing adventure with the Trust last year, and he tells us about the...

It was a night to remember when Dame Ellen MacArthur launched 'Bigger Impact, Brighter Futures - Our Ambitions for 2023-2025' at the start of March. These Ambitions detail how we plan to reach, inspire, and support more young people than ever before over the next three years. In this episode you will hear from people who were there that evening and who couldn't be more excited about...

When young people share their stories, they let others know that they're not alone in how they are feeling or what they are going through.  That's why we speak to so many young people when they are here on trips: it's their voices that matter the most.  This episode is made up of snippets from those conversations. It's about how young people feel, what they think, what they are...

The Trust aims to be open to everyone who is looking for support, and for some, that isn’t a one-and-done thing.  As young people feel more accepted, independent and optimistic, that might take place across their teenage years or into young adulthood.  First up, 17-year-old Libby tells us about having been supported by the Trust since she was 10. She talks about why she keeps coming back and how h...

There are amazing people who donate to the Trust monthly. We call them Friends of the Trust.  They provide long-term support to young people, which in turn leads to making a long-term difference to those young people’s lives.  We thought, wouldn’t it be nice if a Friend of the Trust could sit down with someone who’s benefitted from that long-term support, and who feels that Friends of the Trust ha...

This summer, our bases in Largs and East Cowes were buzzing with hundreds of young people on their first Trust adventures and those coming back for more. Others joined us elsewhere all across the UK.  It was a summer to remember. CEO Frank Fletcher and skipper Becky sit down - in-person! - to have a chat about this wonderful time.  They talk about best bits, the positive vibe, Frank explains more...

It’s here! Our season starts this Saturday! CEO Frank Fletcher joins the pod to give us an overview and introduction to the summer ahead. He talks about a few other things too: research the Trust has done to make sure it’s having the best impact it possibly can; the three-way partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Lives vs Cancer; how he’s feeling heading into this summer after the last f...

Some young people really take to the sailing part of the Trust. That’s what happened with Emily. Being registered blind has impacted her life, she says, but she deals with it by throwing herself into a whole load of activities to prove to everyone she can still do them. Emily recently completed her RYA Day Skipper course and will be joining the Trust for Round the Island Race this year.  Two of th...

Ahead of the 2022 season starting later this month, we're taking it back to those first times, before you know what the Trust really is.  You know there's sailing, hopefully you've seen some photos and videos, maybe you've even listened to this podcast. There are nerves too. It's four days away from home, it could be the first time staying somewhere else after having cance...

We're so happy to welcome 2021's volunteer of the year to the pod - Juliet Sykes! After listening to this conversation, you'll know why she was nominated and won. She shares why she got involved with the Trust, what energy she brings to trips, what she's looking forward to in the season ahead, and, of course, her best bit, worst bit, and funniest bit so far.  The way she talks...

Over the last three episodes we’ve looked at what young people have told us they’ve felt after spending time with the Trust. Accepted. Independent. Optimistic.  Everyone who joined us for those episodes shared what those feelings mean to them, and the impact rediscovering and rebuilding them has had on their lives, with the Trust’s support. So in this episode Macy and Tom talk about what those fee...

We’re continuing our run of episodes all about what young people say they feel after spending some time with the Trust. This time we're talking about feeling more optimistic. What optimism means is different for everyone, but it’s because of optimism that we feel able to take part in things, believe we can do them, and picture a brighter future.  This week we talk to Emily, Will, and Myla abo...

Continuing on from last week’s episode all around the theme of feeling accepted, this time we’re looking at what it means to feel more independent after spending some time with the Trust.  ‘Independent’ is another word we’ve been hearing when talking to young people and the wider Trust community about how they feel after a trip.  Joining us to talk about that are Isla and Lucy. They both had cance...

Over the last few years the Trust has done lots research with young people, families, hospitals, charity partners, the wider Trust community. This series is going to be about the difference and the brighter futures you have told us the Trust makes, and it’s going to be brought to life by young people and their real-life experiences. Athena, Meg, and Leanna - who all sailed together in 2021! - join...

The Trust isn’t the only charity out there providing support to young people living through and beyond cancer, and that can only be a good thing. Young people benefit when we work together to provide what they need. That’s the thinking behind the official three way partnership between ourselves, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Young Lives vs Cancer.  Joining us this week are Laura Rohdich from Young Liv...

Isla, Bhav and Holly know the difference the Trust makes. They’ve all been supported by the Trust, and they’re also passionate about doing what they can to make sure every young person gets the same life-changing support. For Giving Tuesday, they shared their own experiences supporting the Trust in return. It can be daunting setting up a fundraising challenge and getting it off the ground. It does...