Member Spotlight: Jane Dawson, Founder and CEO of the Ella Dawson Foundation
17th December 2025, 9:55 am
Hi, I’m Jane Dawson, Founder and CEO of the Ella Dawson Foundation, a charity providing psychological, emotional, physical, nutritional and wellbeing support to young adults aged 18–30 who are living with, or beyond, cancer, as well as their families and carers.
Built on lived experience, our mission is simple: to ensure every young adult diagnosed with cancer, and their families and carers, has the tools and support they need to live well and feel empowered through treatment, and rebuild their lives beyond cancer.
The charity was established in 2022 as a legacy to our daughter, Ella, who heartbreakingly died from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2021 at just 24 years old. Despite excellent clinical and medical care, Ella found that emotional, physical and wellbeing support tailored to the unique needs of young adults, support which is crucial to helping young people navigate cancer at such a critical age, was severely lacking or incredibly difficult to access.
During her treatment, Ella created a wellbeing blueprint to help others in her situation. Launched in 2022, the Ella Dawson Foundation is her legacy.
My work is driven by a deep commitment to supporting young adults with cancer and their families through the most challenging times, delivering impactful and meaningful support that helping them to navigate the challenges of cancer, rebuild lives beyond and helping them to create lasting change.
Career Highlight
Along with my fellow founders and trustees, we launched the charity to deliver life-changing impact to young people with cancer and their families. Since launch we have now supported over 2500 young people and families delivering clinically significant outcomes with support frequently described as ‘life changing’. Seeing the charity grow so quickly, delivering real, meaningful support and becoming a trusted referral pathway for young people, families and hospitals across the UK has been profoundly rewarding.
Another milestone has been our partnership with The Christie Hospital in Manchester, where we fully funded the first full-time Complementary Therapist in the UK devoted exclusively to supporting young people. This role is already improving treatment compliance and helping young people to navigate harsh treatment regimes and rebuild their lives after treatment.
In just a few years, we have also been proud to work alongside national partners and policymakers to highlight and address the issues young people with cancer and their families face every day.
Three Words That Describe Me
Compassionate, determined and collaborative.
What’s the Best Thing About pro-manchester?
The sense of community. Pro-manchester brings together an incredible network of leaders, organisations and changemakers, offering opportunities to connect, learn from, and support each another.
Priorities for 2026
Our focus for 2026 is to continue expanding our reach and deepening our impact. In 2025 referrals into the charity grew by 70%, and we supported more than 1,000 young people in 2025 alone. This demand is forecast to continue rise as more young adults reach out for the vital support they often cannot access elsewhere.
With our commitment to offer support every young person or family within 14 days of referral, our priority is ensuring we can be there for all 4,693 young people diagnosed with cancer each year. To do this, we are strengthening and developing sustainable funding streams that will allow us to deliver this support long into the future.
Collaboration remains central to everything we do, and we are excited to work with partners who share our vision to make a meaningful difference for young adults with cancer and their families. We are passionate about helping young adults retain a sense of self, rebuild confidence and self-belief, and develop resilience and hope. Our commitment is to ensure no young person has to face cancer without the tools, support and empowerment they need to live well through and beyond cancer.
What Matters in Manchester Right Now?
I believe Manchester’s strength lies in its resilience, its people, and a deeply collaborative mindset across charities, businesses and public services. I am proud to be part of such a powerful community.
Who I’d Like to Meet
With an ambitious plan to deliver sustainable growth and ensure we are there for every young adult or family member who needs us, I am keen to connect with organisations and individuals who believe in the power of partnership to drive social change.
We are actively developing our corporate partnership programme for 2026 and beyond, and I would love to speak with businesses looking to collaborate with a rapidly growing organisation delivering life-changing impact for young adults with, and beyond, cancer and their families.
We’re passionate about collaboration, and we’re equally keen to hear from charities, non-profits, organisations, or leaders who care deeply about mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Get In Touch (optional)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07966 932403
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