Celebrating Frank's 20 years of making magic!

20 years. 20 years! Who would have ever thought it Frank Fletcher?

Well, the more than 3,500 young people whose lives you have played a monumental part in since 2005 are eternally grateful that you stuck around.

And so are the many hundreds of other people whose paths you’ve crossed in that time – families, colleagues, volunteers, skippers, long term supporters and precious partners. So many friends, so many memories, so many impressions left (good ones mostly!).

You’re the king of ‘detail, detail, don’t bore me with detail!’ But sorry Frank here are some really important ones. Since you took over as CEO on 3 November 2005…

• More than 650 young people a year are now experiencing the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust unique magic, compared to the 44 that came sailing that summer.
• All children, teenagers and young adults who have a cancer diagnosis in the UK have somewhere to turn after the devasting trauma of treatment.
• Young people from across the whole of the UK now come back year-on-year thanks to your vision in opening another base in Scotland in 2013 and creating partnerships with other sailing and outdoor adventure providers nationwide.
• Their siblings also have something that’s their own after you identified they need support too when their brother or sister is going through cancer.
• Young people can return to volunteer as you understood the aspirational necessity of someone more recently off treatment meeting adults who had cancer themselves when they were younger.
• Two epic voyages around Britain created lifelong memories and impact for every young person who took part.
• Young people who need the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust beyond their summer trip can get year-round mental wellbeing support thanks to the innovative partnership you nurtured with mental health specialists, Mind Over Cancer.
• One incredible ‘Virtual Summer’ in the COVID summer of 2020 made sure the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust was still here for every young person at the time they needed us most.
• All this – and so much more – made possible by a mind-boggling £21.4m raised.

You were there from the very beginning, helping set-up the charity with Dame Ellen and her then business partner and sailing entrepreneur, Mark Turner, in 2003, acting as a Trustee while also skippering on sailing trips in the first two years.

And by your own admission, you were kind of making it up as you went along. You all knew there was this gap in support for young people who had been through cancer treatment. But you didn’t know just how massive that chasm was.

Closing that chasm has been your mission ever since. And it’s still the thing that drives you every single day. It isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, what the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust does is essential in young people starting to rebuild their lives after the trauma of diagnosis and treatment.

Every tear that still appears in your eye when you hear another heartfelt ‘thank you’, another story of a life changed, another young life celebrated, shows you care as much now as you did then. Everyone who knows Frank knows his heart is on his sleeve. It couldn’t be anywhere else. It’s what made the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust everything it is today.

If you stepped back tomorrow (although please don’t!), that is an unbelievable legacy right there. Thank you just doesn’t feel enough.

Celebrate Frank's 20 years by supporting him to Step Into Christmas

To mark his 20 years at the helm, Frank will be walking 10,000 steps a day for the 30 days of November to raise much-needed funds as part of our month-long Step Into Christmas fundraiser. Show your appreciation and support Frank in his challenge here - Frank Fletcher's Step Into Christmas Challenge.

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