The First Meeting of the Council

Nicola Elliott, one of the Council Members, describes what happened at the meeting in January

Getting to know each other

We all sat nervously, waiting around the table for the meeting to start. As we introduced ourselves, we began to get to know each other; our likes, dislikes and personal experiences. We were given folders with pens and notepads and sticky notes inside, which reminded us all that our roles in the council were important and that we had a job to do. However after introducing ourselves, we decided it was time for a bite to eat and all shared two massive pizzas!

Developing a plan of action

After lunch, we discussed what we would all like the outcome of the meetings to be which was to improve the website and make the charity more well-known. With our own creative ideas we managed to figure out how to make this a reality We began to allocate ourselves individual responsibilities or ‘roles’ which ranged from thinking of new funky ideas for the website to wacky ideas on how to raise money for the charity through local events at school. We then set up a group agreement that we would not interrupt each other and that everyone’s opinions would always be accepted.

What changes would we make?

We identified the main weaknesses as being the lack of publicity and fundraising events and all agreed that the best way to solve both problems would be to organise events such as themed parties and sponsored runs. These would both raise awareness of the charity whilst hopefully gaining publicity, perhaps attracting the attention of the local newspaper. We also wanted to be there for people and give advice to others. As a consequence I’m pleased to say you will now be able to flick through the pages of this magazine and find a whole new section – Chloe’s Column! A lot of time during the meeting was spent discussing how to re-design the website to include chat forums for younger children and teenagers and to make it more lively.

What will we do at our future meetings?

As the meeting was ending, we decided we would like to add more council members to our team. It was important to all members of the council to be able to have our say and we thought that others would like the same opportunity to be directly involved in the organisation. We ended by discussing topics for the next meeting in April. We decided that we definitely wanted updates on our own separate roles and to talk more about the websites. It was during this time that I noticed none of us openly said ‘cleft lip’ without hesitation. My observation lies at the core of what the council is trying to achieve for Young People and Children. We want to raise awareness as we don’t seem to talk enough, in society as a whole, about the whole issue of having a cleft lip. We hope that through fundraising and a new website we can fulfil our aim.

So, we need your help! If you want to make new friends, share some ideas and have your say, then what’s to lose? We are looking to expand the Council. If you’re interested please fill in the application form which can be found on the website http://www.clapa.com. Even if you’re not interested in becoming a member of the Council if you’ve got a fantastic idea contact Sandy at

Thanks!