Buckhaven boy becomes face of cancer charity

Charlie Stevens (5) was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma when he was just two, and charity CLIC Sargent stepped in to support his family during treatment.

With Charlie now in remission, the family are looking to help the charity, who are hoping to become a charity partner of supermarket giant Morrisons.

Charlie’s smiling face will be spread across posters around Scotland, urging Morrisons’ employees to vote for CLIC Sargent to be named as their new charity partner, which could help them secure £7 million in funding.

Charlie’s mum, Evonne McKay, spoke about how important the charity had been during his treatment.

“The whole experience was so hard,” she said. “When you hear that your child has cancer you are just stuck. You think, what can I do? What did we do wrong? Why is this happening?

“Our CLIC Sargent social worker was really lovely. She was there to give us support and direct us to any financial aid we could have.

“She was also great at keeping Charlie entertained.

“Also, during his treatment we could stay in the CLIC Villa, the charity’s home from home, which is where I would spend a lot of my time.

“It made a huge difference to us and saved us a lot of expense. It makes such a difference when you know that your child is safe and sleeping nearby and you can go off and have a sleep.”

CLIC Sargent research has found that on average parents whose children are on cancer treatment face extra living expenses of £600 per month.

If the support charity’s campaign is successful, it says it will be able to double the amount of financial grants it can provide to families.

Evonne made an emotional plea to Morrison’s employees to support their campaign.

She said: “I hope Morrisons’ employees understand how important their vote is to families like ours. At one point during it all we couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. But Charlie got better and we are so happy he is in remission.”