Building Belonging - one year on

Last spring we publicly launched our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Plan - 2023-2026, a vital pillar of our ambition to 'Build Belonging' for everyone we support or who works for us. So 12 months on, how are we doing?

Build Belonging was one of nine strategic priorities laid out in 'Bigger Impact, Brighter Futures - Our Ambitions for 2023-2025'. This made a commitment to be visible, relevant and accessible to every young person who has a cancer diagnosis in the UK and somewhere everyone feels they belong. If that was the vision, our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Plan - 2023-2026 laid out how we hoped to achieve that vision.

When we made our commitment to address the issue of under-representation across the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in 2022, 8.5% of the young people we supported that summer were young people of colour. Last year (2024) that percentage had increased by almost 2% to 10.3%.

On the surface we are starting to shift the dial. But we know - from the impact data we collect, the fact the percentage of people of colour we supported last year is still way below the 2021 census data of 18% of the population of England and Wales belonging to a black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic group and that there are under-represented communities we are still not reaching - that we cannot lose focus or momentum.

To know is to do better

One of the biggest steps forward towards building belonging we've taken over the past 12 months is updating our EDIB Policy and producing a new Racism And Identity Discrimination - Reporting Process. Sometimes we have experiences we can’t be sure is racism or identity-based discrimination, we just know something doesn't feel right or good. We can only try to do better as an organisation if we know about these.

The new process, which includes a new online reporting form, outlines our approach to addressing issues of racism and other identity-based discrimination, so anyone working with or being supported by us has clarity on the steps to take to get support when they need it. It aims to be safe and supportive by focusing on the impact on you or someone else, rather than the intention of the person who said or did the thing being shared with us.

It applies whether someone has personally experienced discrimination or has seen discrimination towards another person and also serves as a guide to everyone working as part of our charity on our stance on these issues, and the practical steps to take in the instance of unacceptable practices and behaviours.

Get more information and find links to useful documents on this page - How we deal with racism and identity discrimination - found at the bottom of every page on our website.

Other action we've taken this year

Outside of the big statement policies and processes, lots of other practical and values-based actions have been taken across the charity. These include...

Our EDIB vision and commitment to building an inclusive culture embedded in all new starter inductions (both staff and seasonal team).
The full team have undertaken formal EDIB training in partnership with with behaviour change specialists, New Ways.
EDIB was once again a key topic at our Volunteer and Skippers Conference in March, with special thanks to Lee Dibben, Education and Policy Manager at OUTpatients - the UK's LGBTIQ+ cancer charity - and Dean Beadle, autistic conference speaker, for their brilliant keynote sessions.
Introducing new interventions and ideas to make trip mealtimes more inclusive and even better support multi-faith environments.
Starting to measure belonging amongst young people, our staff and seasonal team.
Creating space for informal EDIB learning and sharing amongst the team, including adding EDIB as a standing item to our fortnightly team call.
Looking at how we collect and measure diversity data across all the protected characteristics for young people, our team (staff & seasonal), recruiters/referral partners and Board, so we can see where we’re at and if we’re improving.
Removing barriers to volunteering for all by introducing an equal and fair application process for all volunteer roles and opportunities.
Starting bringing together work and thinking our charity partners, including Young Lives vs Cancer and Teenage Cancer Trust, are doing on EDIB, to help recognise issues and/or barriers in delivering equitable opportunities for all.
Making EDIB a key focus of the 2025 summer referral meetings with our hospital and charity partners in February.
Exploring how we break down barriers for young people of colour to our trips.
Adding ‘Supporting Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging’ section to signposting page of our website.

What's next?

Two of the next 'biggies' are how we develop inclusive recruitment practices to grow diversity across our team, and the inclusive positioning of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and our services. In the coming months we will be seeking funding to resource and start addressing both of these.

We will also start taking a closer look at EDIB in fundraising and continue the work started over the past year around removing barriers to access, including with current partners and through building new relationships.

Belonging and equity are at the heart of what the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust does. Everyone – whether they are working with us, for us, or participating in one of our activities - should expect belonging as standard. This is our ambition. We will get there.