Positive Steps

Thanks to your incredible support, Positive Steps has continued to empower young people aged 13–24 who are living with or beyond cancer. Over the past year, we have focused on creating opportunities for connection, confidence, and personal growth — ensuring that no young person faces cancer alone.

Through a blend of outreach, in-person, and digital engagement, we have reached more young people than ever before, helping them take positive steps forward in their recovery and in life beyond diagnosis.

Impact Highlights

1,040 unique young people supported
419 individual outreach calls delivered
8 regional meet-ups hosted
31 digital activities delivered
27 hospital-based sessions held
8 family events delivered, creating 247 opportunities for parents and siblings

Every connection we make begins with a conversation. Over the past year, our Beneficiary Engagement Team has conducted 419 one-to-one outreach calls — personalised conversations that allow us to understand where each young person is on their journey, identify their goals, and offer the encouragement and accountability they need to move forward. These calls form the foundation of our tailored support, ensuring that every young person feels seen, heard, and valued.

We have also taken Positive Steps out into communities, delivering 8 regional meet-ups across the UK. These gatherings ensure that distance, health, or hospital treatment are never barriers to belonging. By meeting young people where they are — both geographically and emotionally — we are creating accessible pathways to connection, hope, and friendship.

Our 31 digital events continue to play an essential role in accessibility. From wellbeing workshops to creative sessions and online hangouts, these activities allow young people who are too unwell to travel or who live far to stay connected and engaged from home.

Early engagement remains a cornerstone of our work. Through 27 hospital-based activities, we reach young people during treatment — often at one of the most isolating and frightening stages of their journey. These ward-based sessions provide a much-needed distraction from the clinical environment and introduce young people to a supportive community ready to walk alongside them.

We recognise that a cancer diagnosis impacts the entire family. Our 8 family events this year have created 247 secondary beneficiary opportunities, offering parents and siblings the same chance to meet others who understand what they’re going through. These events bring comfort, solidarity, and shared strength to families navigating a life-changing experience together.

In the year ahead, we will continue to build on this foundation — strengthening our outreach, expanding regional engagement, and growing our digital delivery to ensure every young person can access support in a way that suits their needs.

Your continued generosity on the GlobalGiving platform is helping to make this possible. Every call made, every event delivered, and every connection formed begins with your support.

Together, we are helping young people living with and beyond cancer rediscover confidence, build friendships, and take positive steps toward a brighter, more hopeful future.

Thank you for standing with us.

Thanks to your incredible support, we were able to launch a brand new six-week program this summer – Bike and Unite – and we’re thrilled to share how it’s gone so far!

The program kicked off in June at the Lee Valley Cycle Park, where 18 young people took part – 7 under 18s and 11 over 18s. Each young person received a brand new bike (sized and fitted just for them), a helmet, and a lock to keep it safe. For many, this was their first time back on a bike since treatment. As you may know, cancer takes a serious toll on young people’s physical health – especially their core strength, balance, and confidence – so simply getting back in the saddle was a huge milestone.

They weren’t alone on the journey. They were joined by James, one of our incredible Alumni, who first came to Teens Unite as a teenager diagnosed with cancer. Gifted a bike years ago himself, James has since completed overseas cycling challenges to raise money for Teens Unite. He was a true inspiration to the group. Alongside James, British Cycling coach Asma Amla played a key role in rebuilding the young people’s cycling confidence through simple, structured tasks. By the end of Day One, they were riding full circuits of the track!

But this wasn’t a one-off event – it’s a six-week challenge. Each week, our young riders were given a fun cycling task designed to keep them moving and motivated. These included:

• Ride until you see a red door
• Take a friend along for the ride
• Snap a selfie in an unusual location
• Capture 5 items of the same colour
• Spot and photograph animals on your route
• Take a before-and-after selfie on your final ride

The energy and commitment from the group have been incredible. To round off the program, each young person has now been invited to take on a personal fundraising challenge, with a goal of raising £20 by 10th August to help more young people benefit from programs like this.

So far, they’ve cycled 363 miles and raised £630 – and we know there’s more to come! Some are planning 20-mile rides with a parent, while others are getting sponsored for cycling laps of a local field. Our team has been cheering them on with weekly accountability calls and encouraging peer support through social media.

We’ll be celebrating their achievements together at a special Digital Celebration in August, complete with fun awards and shoutouts.

Your donation has helped give young people affected by cancer the confidence to move forward – literally and figuratively. Thank you for being part of their journey.