16 July 2020
Some partnerships just click. It’s no secret the Trust is able to exist as it does thanks to strong relationships with other bodies such as Teenage Cancer Trust, People’s Postcode Lottery, and Musto. Add CLIC Sargent to that list, who provide specialist support for young people with cancer across the UK. We spoke with CLIC Sargent’s CEO, Rachel Kirby-Rider, to get a deeper understanding of why everyone benefits when we work together.
At the heart of our partnership is creating positive impacts for young people who have lived with cancer. Rachel says: “The Trust and CLIC Sargent have a shared understanding and drive to ensure children and young people with cancer get life-changing opportunities, have fun, be children, and get to meet others like them. We have mutual respect for each other’s charitable goals and values.
“The Trust provides wonderful opportunities for children and young people to step outside of their diagnosis and treatment. To be a child or young person again. To feel a newfound freedom with others who are also facing cancer. To learn new skills, grow in confidence and of course have fun. At CLIC Sargent we love working with and referring children and young people to these opportunities.”
Despite our shared goal, we provide completely different experiences and offer to fill different wants and needs. It’s a partnership based around complementing one another, not competing with one another. Rachel continues: “The Trust has honed its operating model with teams of skippers, volunteers, and the staff who provide so much more than a sailing experience, including peer support and individual development.”
Meanwhile, teams at CLIC Sargent refer children and young people aged 8 to 24 to the Trust so they can access these opportunities. A lot goes into that: these teams help with paperwork, contact clinical teams for consent, and reassure parents who could understandably be worried about their child being away from home. They help with our siblings trips too, sending a social worker to join us for the week who supports young people impacted by having a sibling with cancer.
All this is doable because of the close relationship between CLIC Sargent and the Trust. These things don’t just fall into place, they take time to come together and flourish into what our partnership has become. Rachel adds: “We have a long-standing relationship over many years. It’s strong from the grassroots level to CEO and everything in between. We have a secure foundation, trust and mutual respect. The Trust teams keep in close contact with our social care teams, generally through their annual visits.”
This close working bond is driven by our mutual goal of supporting young people in whatever ways we can. By bringing our strengths together, we are able to make a bigger difference than if we were working separately.
Rachel concludes: “CLIC Sargent couldn’t in any way offer this opportunity to children, young people and families alone. It is a win/win for the young people and their families.”