Applications for Youth Panel are now open
What is the Youth Panel?
The Youth Panel is about the 'behind the scenes' of a charity. We discuss the big picture questions about YoungMinds as an organisation, like who we are, where we are going, or what we should do.
We talk about things like strategy, safeguarding, fundraising, organisational culture, risk management, data protection, and brand and marketing.
The Youth Panel’s job is to understand how YoungMinds works, to help our Directors and our Board of Trustees make the best decisions to achieve our mission.
The decisions that you make as a Youth Panel help to shape the future of the charity and the work that we do.
How do I apply?
Applications to be on the Youth Panel are now open here. The application deadline is 9am on Monday 29 September.
You can apply for the Youth Panel by completing the application form on our website. You will have the option to write your answers, upload a video or audio note, or to let us know another way that might be more accessible for you.
You will be asked to answer these questions:
- Why do you want to volunteer for YoungMinds?
- Why are you interested in being a member of a Youth Panel?
- What part of a charity are you most interested in learning more about?
When we read your application, we will want to see that:
- You are passionate about young people’s mental health and the work of YoungMinds.
- You understand the role of the Youth Panel, and that it is different from our Activist programme.
- You want to learn more about the ‘behind the scenes’ of running a charity.
We will also ask if you have done any volunteering before, and if you identify with any of the groups we are prioritising.
If you are under 18, we will also ask for the contact details of your parent or guardian. If your application is successful, we will need to check with them that they are happy for you to take part in the programme. We will always talk to you first before we contact them.
You don’t have to have loads of volunteering experience or get top grades to be on the Youth Panel. The main thing that we are looking for is passion!
You’ll need to be aged between 16 and 25 for the whole two years of the programme. If you’re already 24 or 25, unfortunately it is too late for you to join our Youth Panel.
You also need to live in England.
At YoungMinds we want to make sure that we are listening to young people with lots of different backgrounds and experiences, so we are prioritising applications from young people who:
- have a physical disability or long term physical illness
- are Black or from a minoritised ethnicity
- are trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming
- are as working class
- are male/men (both trans or cis)
My experience at YoungMinds has been so humbling and insightful. Being a Panellist gave me a sense of accountability and responsibility to discuss important issues relating to young people’s mental health.
What does a Youth Panellist do?
The Youth Panel is involved in shaping projects across our whole organisation.
They ask questions like:
- Is this right for YoungMinds?
- How should our charity approach this?
- Does this fit with our strategy?
- Who else needs to be part of this conversation?
Here are some of the ways you'll get involved:
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Zoom calls where we meet with different teams across the organisation to hear about their work and provide input on projects.
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Saturday sessions where you will undertake project work, hear about organisational updates and take part in skills development sessions.
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One or two Youth Panel representatives attending Board of Trustee meetings (four to five per year).
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Getting involved with ad-hoc opportunities to represent the Youth Panel in various internal and external meetings.
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Regular check-ins with the programme lead to support with development aims and wellbeing.
I have met some extraordinary young people from all walks of life, and I couldn’t ask to work with a better team.
What are the time commitments?
The Youth Panel is a two year programme, and we hope that you will get involved as much as you can during that time. As a Youth Panellist, we ask that you are able to make the following commitments.
The induction will consist of two in-person sessions and three online sessions, spread over four weeks.
The 2025 induction dates are:
In-Person (London)
- Saturday 1 November 11am-4pm
- Saturday 22 November 11am-4pm
Travel and food expenses will be covered by YoungMinds
Online
- Tuesday 4 November 6-8pm
- Tuesday 11 November 6-8pm
- Tuesday 18 November 6-8pm
We ask that applicants are available for all of the induction dates.
After the induction, the Youth Panel will meet around three or four times a month.
There will be a maximum of three online sessions per month that will take place on Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm.
In-person meetings will happen roughly once every other month.
You will be able to volunteer for other opportunities beyond those for the whole group as and when they become available.
I'm proud that YoungMinds genuinely uses the voice of young people to guide their approach as a charity and change the misconceptions around mental health.
FAQs
As a Youth Panellist, the first thing you will do is take part in an induction where you will get to know our staff and the other Youth Panellists.
Your training will include:
- learning more about us and the work we do
- understanding the ‘behind the scenes’ of running a charity
- learning how to think strategically and how to ask good questions
- learning about anti-racism, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (AJEDI), and why this is important to us
- learning more about personal development
After your training, you and the other Panellists will start to shape our work across the charity.
Attendance to Youth Panel sessions is expected but not mandatory. This means that we want you to be in most of the sessions, but we understand that there will be times when it won't be possible for you to attend here and there (e.g. holidays, illness, exams etc.) and that's fine.
This is definitely possible, though this will obviously depend on what your other commitments are. Most of our current Panel are either in full-time education or full-time employment and they are able to fit their commitments around their current schedules. We try to structure everything so that it can work for the most people possible and so most of our work happens on Tuesday evenings (after school/uni/work) or on weekends.
Absolutely! While we do require that you live in England, it makes no difference where exactly in England. YoungMinds will always pay for your travel, food/drink and accommodation (if required) when we do in-person work.
Yes, you are still more than welcome to apply. If you are offered a place on the Youth Panel, you won’t need to confirm it until around October, so you can base your decision around what information you have then.
While we know that 100% attendance over 2 years will not be possible, we do ask that you only apply if you will regularly be available from 6-8pm on Tuesday evenings. If you already have an ongoing commitment at that time, it would not be possible for you to properly engage with the programme, as you would miss most of the sessions.
Absolutely! There are no restrictions on applying again if you were unsuccessful the first time, so long as you still meet the other requirements ie. You will be 16-23 years old when you start with the Panel and you are England based.
This isn’t like a regular job application where you have more of a chance with more skills and experience. You don’t need any prior experience to apply. What we want to see is a demonstration that you are passionate about the cause, that you truly understand the purpose of the Youth Panel and that you are really wanting to contribute to YoungMinds in that way. Don’t worry about using fancy words or acting in a particular way. Just be honest and be yourself.
None! Although the Youth Panel is not a paid programme, you will never be expected to pay anything in order to be involved.
This means that all travel, accommodation, food, drink and any other required support for you to participate will be paid for by YoungMinds.
Nope. That’s not a problem.
YoungMinds has a few different core voluntary programmes for young people, each of which serves a different purpose.
If you are looking for a programme that enables you to share your story, raise awareness and campaign for change, then it might be that our Activist programme is a better fit for you.
You can find out more about all of our Youth Engagement programmes and which one is the best fit for you using the links below:
More opportunities for young people
If this isn't the right opportunity for you, take a look at some of the other ways you can get involved as a young person with our work.
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Youth Advisors work alongside YoungMinds staff, making sure that everything we do is done in partnership with young people.
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Take a look at the opportunities we have to share your mental health story by writing for YoungMinds.
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Become a YoungMinds Activist so you can raise your voice about mental health and create change.