James on the recent Youth Advisory Panel residential

Hello, I’m James, and I’m part of the Buttle UK Youth Advisory Panel (YAP). Earlier this year I got the chance to head up to Manchester for our residential weekend — and honestly, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had with the Panel so far.

The activity I was most looking forward to was the Dragons’ Den challenge. The idea was to imagine setting up our own charity with the money Frank Buttle raised in his lifetime — basically, putting ourselves in his shoes and seeing how we’d use it to make a difference. I was excited for the challenge and to see what we could come up with as a team.

Arriving in Manchester, it was amazing to see everyone again and also meet some new faces. It is always good to catch up with everyone.

To start off, we heard updates about how our previous work had actually influenced what’s going on inside the charity, which was a pretty proud moment. We also did some brainstorming about the future of Buttle UK and got to give feedback on the charity’s new redesign ideas (which look really exciting). What stood out to me most was just how much Buttle really listens to us. It didn’t feel like we were just giving opinions for the sake of it — you could tell we were being taken seriously and shaping real decisions.

Day two was the Dragons’ Den activity. It was fun, creative, and pushed us to think big so we could take our ideas in various directions. Working as a team to pitch ideas felt both challenging and inspiring. A close second was our evening meal at Nando’s!

One big takeaway for me was realising just how much of our feedback is actually listened to and acted on. It makes being part of the YAP feel so worthwhile. I think the weekend achieved its goals: we came up with fresh ideas, and we grew closer as a group. Going forward, one thing I’d love to see is a YAP member getting a seat on the board — having a young person involved at that level would be a massive step.

All in all, the Manchester residential was inspiring, energising, and a lot of fun. It showed me what can happen when young people are given a platform to share their ideas — and it reminded me why being part of YAP is so special.