About us
Every day in the UK around 11 children and young people find out they have cancer. A diagnosis that can change their entire lives.
At Shine a Light, we’ve made it our mission to help children, young people, and their families, hold on to the things that matter.
We are volunteers, from all walks of life, doing everything we can to make life better for those dealing with cancer right now.
Our charity was founded in 2016 by Sam Schoolar. As a survivor of childhood cancer, Sam is all too aware of the gaps in services and support for young people and their families. Shine a Light exists to close those gaps.
“My motivation for starting Shine a Light was my own experience of childhood cancer, which began when I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia at the age of 10. My treatment took two and a half years, but my journey is still on going. I’ve strived my whole life to help other families facing the same struggles my family went through. My purpose is make life better for children diagnosed with cancer today.”
Meet the team
Regular Team
Our regular team run all areas of the charity, and help us to achieve our objectives. With two full-time staff and one part-time team member, and a wonderful team of volunteers to support them, they are at the heart of delivering our support and services to children and young people living with cancer.
Event Volunteer Team
Our event volunteers enable us to attend some wonderful fundraising and awareness raising activities, including music festivals, charity golf days and awareness raising events in our local communities.
Our event volunteers generously give their time to enable our charity to be present at wonderful fundraising and awareness building activities across the region.
Counselling and Play Therapy Team
Our counselling and play therapy team are fully trained and qualified specialists, who help children, young people and affected adults to make sense of their emotions and diagnosis. They work with us as needed, on a session-by-session basis, to help us meet the needs of everyone we support.
Trustee Board
Our trustee board volunteer their time to ensure the continued delivery and effectiveness of our services. They meet regularly to review our operations and ensure we are meeting our goals and objectives. Helping us deliver on our mission of providing support services and a supportive community for children living with cancer, and their families.
