Sound Waves

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 about her volunteering experience really sums up why the Trust matters - to young people, volunteers, the whole Trust community. She is such a joy to spend time with! 

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 feelings lead to. The brighter futures they inspire.

They’ve been supported by the Trust, they’ve become volunteers themselves, and they both talk about that journey, from where they started to that brighter future which, for them, is now. 

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 about how coming on trips after their diagnoses had a positive impact on their relationship with optimism. 

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 cancer when they were very young, but as you’ll hear, that doesn’t mean the effects of it just go away when moving into adolescence and young adulthood. 

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 Sound Waves to talk about what feeling accepted means, and the difference it makes when you no longer feel like 'the only one'. That's a feeling we've been hearing about time and again, and they make clear why it's so important. 

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 Lives vs Cancer and Julie Gonzalez from Teenage Cancer Trust. They work directly with young people, they’ve come out with the Trust, and we talk about the benefits of working together.

We're also joined by Jess Beedle, who’s a part of the Trust’s youth board and a graduate volunteer, and she’s been supported by all three charities. 

This is just a very small part of a huge amount of teamwork and support that’s going on, but hopefully this episode gives a bit of an introduction to how things are coming together.

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 doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing it for a long time or you’re thinking of your first time, it all helps inspire brighter futures in young people living through and beyond cancer. 

When young people come on a first time trip with the Trust, it’s either in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight or Largs in Scotland. In this episode, we take a closer look at Largs. What should you expect when you come here? What are you going to see and feel?

The Largs team were rounded up for the first ever in-person Sound Waves. James, Lorna, Hayley, and Scott talk about what young people can look forward to and the impact they've seen in Scotland, so whether you’re coming sailing for the first time or returning for more, this is what you can expect from your time in Largs.  

This week we’re taking a step back to look at the big picture: the development of the Trust community.

Back in 2020, the Trust launched our Ambitions. One of these was to strengthen our frontline, which means "focusing on volunteer and skipper development and management to ensure all young people get the best outcomes possible from their trip.”

In this episode we talk to Alex Guerandel, who skippered with the Trust for the first time this year. We talk to Avalon and Meyer, who were both supported by the Trust and completed their graduate volunteer training last month. 

They are part of that strengthening of the front line that will make the biggest impact to young people on trips, and here, they tell us all about it. 

After the unforeseen circumstances of last year, we were able to run activities this summer – we got back on board! It felt amazing having young people back at our bases, and new for this year, it was exciting taking the Trust to the young people as part of our Taste of the Trust programme. 

These days were new to everyone, so we thought it’d be good to start back with an episode talking to two young people who had a Taste of the Trust this year. 

Rachel and Kieran both took to the water from Southampton and we were grateful that they joined us again here to tell us what their day was like, and why they already can’t wait to come back next year.