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STARboard
STARboard is our children and young people’s board. It was established in May 2020 and the 2022-2024 cohort is currently made up of seven young people from across the UK who play a valuable role in guiding our decision-making.
At Make-A-Wish UK, our aim is to be not only child-focused, but child-led. STARboard plays a central role in helping us achieve this. In ensures that young people are at the heart of our wishes and at the heart of our organisation - helping Make-A-Wish be the best it can be for the families we serve.
STARboard brings together a group of young people from across the UK, who’ve had a wish in the last two years and who've volunteered to represent their local region and fellow wish families to help us better serve our communities and achieve our goals.
A STARboard member’s role is to be a voice for wish children. From advising the charity on important decisions, to supporting events and being an advocate for the charity, there’s lots to do. There are also opportunities for self-development, learning and socialising!
It's a vital role that's full of exciting opportunities like the ones mentioned below...
STARboard meeting for the first time in person after six months together as a new board.
“Hayden requires a lot of in-person support to be able to achieve his goals. Make-A-Wish has helped to make joining STARboard an enjoyable experience by allowing me to sit in and help Hayden in STARboard meetings and having pre-meeting video chats with him and I to go over the agenda with before meetings where he is more comfortable to share his ideas on a 1-2-1 basis.
His ideas are always fully shared in the meetings even if he's unable to talk himself when they're happening. He's also been able to take things at his own pace, participating in the activities and ideas that he connects with the most, with no pressure to do the more complicated tasks and participation. Overall, being on STARboard has been a wonderful, inclusive experience for Hayden and we have seen his confidence grow meeting to meeting. It's shown Hayden that he can make a difference to others whilst also having fun."
Karen, Mum to previous STARboard member Hayden
The Story to Date
March 2022
STARboard has achieved influential and valuable work over the last two years and its members continue to shape the vision and work of Make-A-Wish UK and wider organisations through their efforts.
Some of their hard work includes:
- Individuals chairing the monthly STARboard meetings.
- Participating in Q&A sessions with corporate partners to improve their understanding of the charity and the impact of a wish.
- Interviewing candidates for Director positions within Make-A-Wish and feeding back to the CEO on their views.
- Performing social media takeovers to raise awareness of a variety of topics and events for the charity.
- Informing decisions about key fundraising campaigns to increase their effectiveness.
- Advising companies on how to improve experiences for young people living with illness.
- Informing the charity's three-year strategy and Values & Behaviours refresh.
- Contributed to improving the wish journey, particularly wish anticipation whilst adapting to Covid-19.
- Inputting ideas to form the charity's new ambition through branding and key messaging.
All of this, and more, has been achieved while looking through the unique lens of a wish child with lived experience and expertise.
If you’ve got any questions, call us on 01276 40 50 60 or email [email protected].