Welcome to the Youth Advisory Board!
Our YAB all have experience of cardiomyopathy: having the condition themselves or having a family member or friend with the condition. We work together to improve services for young people affected by cardiomyopathy and myocarditis.
What is the Youth Advisory Board?
Our YAB was formed in 2016 to make sure that young people affected by cardiomyopathy are listened to and understood. It is a collective of young volunteers from across the UK who:
- raise awareness of cardiomyopathy in young people
- advise and educate us on what life is really like as a young person living with cardiomyopathy
- influence and inform the services that we provide for young people
- test our information resources to make sure it's exactly what young people living with cardiomyopathy need.
By joining the Youth Advisory Board you can:
- Develop your confidence
- Gain experience of strategy and teamworking
- Gain knowledge of the charity, health and care sectors
- Influence the work of the charity and make a real impact on the lives of young people affected by cardiomyopathy
FAQs
We get that life can be busy – whether you’re at college, working, or just trying to keep up with everything else going on. That’s why being part of our YAB is super flexible.
There aren’t regular meetings to attend every month. Instead, we’ll contact you a few times a year (usually around 3–4 times) when we have a project, idea, or question we’d love your input on.
Sometimes, that might be a quick email asking for your thoughts. Other times, we might invite you to share your story to help raise awareness and support others going through similar things.
You can always choose what you’d like to be involved in – no pressure, just opportunities to make a difference when it works for you.
We'll also offer gift vouchers of your choice to say thank you when you create or review youth-focused resources for us.
Being part of the YAB is a varied and interesting role. Some of the things you may be involved with include:
- attending meetings, taking part in strategic discussions about Cardiomyopathy UK's youth services and providing feedback to the charity
- sharing your story to raise awareness of cardiomyopathy in young people. This could be on social media, our website or in our magazine, MyLife.
- representing Cardiomyopathy UK and speaking at external events
- attending meetings of the Board of Trustees to share your recommendations on what our support services for young people should look like
If you would like more information on the Youth Advisory Board please email services@cardiomyopathy.org
To find out more, email Rebecca at rebecca.stern@cardiomyopathy.org or call 01494 791224 and select to speak to our services team.
