A View from the CEO, James
New year, same purpose, supporting Doncaster through whatever comes next.
January always brings that mix of reflection and forward focus. After a busy festive period and a much-needed break, the team is back, recharged and ready for what’s already shaping up to be another big year.
We’ve hit the ground running in 2026, with new projects launching now and others getting ready for an April start. There’s a real sense of momentum across the team, and I’m excited about the year ahead.
Setting the Tone for 2026
This month has been all about laying the foundations, reviewing priorities, refreshing our team structures, and making sure we’re set up to deliver on the challenges ahead.
We’re focusing on:
Early intervention – making sure support reaches people before crisis hits
Deeper partnerships – especially with grassroots and community-led groups
Digital inclusion – building on the success of 2025 to tackle digital poverty head-on
Championing accessibility and equity in everything we do
The needs are growing, but so is our ambition to meet them with real, practical support.
🎤 Speaking Up for the VCFS Sector
This month, I had the privilege of joining charities from across Doncaster to talk openly about the challenges our sector is facing, particularly for smaller and grassroots organisations.
As one of the larger charities in the city, I believe we have a responsibility to support the wider sector, whether that’s through financial help, shared expertise, guidance, or simply offering our time and connections. We’ll be looking at how we can strengthen that support in 2026, because the truth is: we’re stronger together.
💬 Listening to Doncaster’s Voices
We’re planning even more community engagement work in early 2026, building on recent focus groups with the Deaf community, outreach through Family Hubs, and powerful conversations with people experiencing housing insecurity, debt, and mental health challenges.
We’re also preparing a new round of focus groups centred on carers’ rights, to better understand the barriers unpaid carers face in accessing advice, support, and recognition.
Every story we hear helps shape how we deliver our service. Listening is step one, acting on what we hear is where the real change happens.
📣 Pushing for Systemic Change
Behind the scenes, we’re continuing our advocacy work, from feeding into national Citizens Advice campaigns, to meeting local MPs and decision-makers to highlight the reality people in Doncaster are facing every day.
We’ll keep pushing for:
Fairer housing support
Action on child poverty
Stronger protections for people struggling with bills
The national picture might be uncertain, but our local voice is growing louder.
We’re delighted to share that Citizens Advice Doncaster has been invited to the Royal Garden Party in 2026 at Buckingham Palace, a recognition that means a great deal to us. Being considered for such an honour reflects the dedication of our staff, volunteers, and partners who work tirelessly for our communities every day. We’re incredibly proud to represent Doncaster and to have our work acknowledged in this way.
🏛️ Trustee Recruitment – One More to Go!
We’re thrilled to be welcoming two passionate and talented new trustees to our board this year. But we’re still on the lookout for one more trustee, ideally with an HR background, to strengthen our leadership team.
If you know someone with the right skills who cares about Doncaster and wants to make a difference, please send them our way!
https://www.cadoncasterborough.org/get-involved/volunteer/
And Finally… Thank You
To the team: thank you for starting the year with your usual passion and energy.
To our partners: thank you for being in this with us, sharing ideas, space, and support.
And to everyone in Doncaster who continues to trust us when times are tough, we see you, we hear you, and we’re here for you.
Here’s to building on that energy as we head into 2026.
