Milo Carter from Fife is the new face of Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens and TK Maxx’ Give Up Clothes for Good initiative

With his dimples and big wide grin, six-year-old Milo Carter of Auchtertool in Fife is the perfect child model.

But what makes him even more suited to his latest gig – as the face of a fundraising partnership between charity Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens and retailer TK Maxx – is that Milo is more than just a cute little boy.

In fact, he is probably one of the bravest in the country and fittingly he is proof of how crucial these types of partnerships are for making new discoveries and breakthroughs to help more children survive.

At just 72 hours old, Milo had surgery to mend a hole in his heart and at three years old he was diagnosed with tumours in both kidneys, his lungs and liver.

Thankfully, a surgeon at Great Ormond Street hospital in London succeeded in saving 90% of one of his kidneys, then chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Edinburgh Sick Children’s hospital helped make Milo clear of cancer.

Now as the front of the Give Up Clothes for Good initiative he is helping raise money to fund vital research in to cures and kinder treatments for cancers affecting children, like himself, and teens and young adults

Give Up Clothes for Good raises money by asking people to drop off any unwanted clothing, accessories and quality homeware in permanent bins provided in TK Maxx stores. This is then donated to and sold at Cancer Research UK shops, with the charity keeping the cash.

As the face of the campaign, Milo, who is a primary two pupil, is now featured on a poster (above, right) which is on display in in all 269 TK Maxx stores shop windows across the UK as well as more than 500 Cancer Research UK shops.

He is taking it all in his stride – telling his teachers that he is now famous – but his mum Sarah, 37, admitted it took her aback the first time she went out shopping.

“Nothing knocks Milo,” she said. “After coping with all the treatment with remarkable bravery, strength and resilience, I’m so proud he is the face of Give Up Clothes for Good.

“Milo had a wonderful time at the photo shoot and it felt brilliant to walk in to a TK Maxx store now and see a giant poster of Milo. Milo loved seeing it. He even wrote about it at school and told his teacher he is famous.

“It’s thanks to research into children’s cancers and an amazing medical team that Milo is here today.

“I’d urge people to go through their wardrobes, cupboards and drawers, and drop off as many unwanted items as they can at TK Maxx stores.

“It’s a great way to support Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens and help ensure that more children, like Milo, survive cancer in the future.”

Milo is one of around 300 under 25s in Scotland who are diagnosed with cancer every year.

The disease is the leading cause of death in under 25s in the UK, taking the lives of around 550 young people each year.

TK Maxx launched Give Up Clothes for Good in 2004 and since then has raised around £19.7 million for Cancer Research UK.

More than £15m of this has specifically supported research into children’s cancers, making the brands-for-less retailer the UK’s biggest corporate supporter of research into cancers affecting children and young people.

Lisa Adams, Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens spokeswoman for Scotland, said: “Cancer has a devastating impact on children, forcing them to show bravery beyond their years.

“Treatment can last for months, or even years, meaning long stays in hospital away from siblings and friends.

“Unfortunately, some children also have to face living with side-effects from their treatment which can last long into adult life.

“We are very grateful to Milo and her parents for helping to show the difference research can make.

“Today three quarters of under-15s with the disease are cured compared with a quarter in the late 1960s.”