Fundraising teenager Stephen Sutton has been awarded a posthumous MBE for raising more than £4 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Stephen’s mum Jane, revealed that her son received a letter shortly before he passed away asking if he would accept the honour in recognition of his fundraising.
His MBE, announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours yesterday, will be dated May 14th - the day of his death at age 19.
The Staffordshire teen inspired more than 170,000 people around the world to donate to the Teenage Cancer Trust through his bravery and high spirits in the face of terminal bowel cancer.
Diagnosed at age 15, he became a household name through his attempt to complete a bucket list of 46 “weird and wonderful things”, which he documented on his blog “Stephen’s Story”.
Stephen’s campaign attracted the support of a host of celebrities and, over the months that followed, donations poured in, smashing £1 million target in April.
The teenager won the hearts of thousands of supporters - including Prime Minister David Cameron - and made his trademark "thumbs up" sign a symbol of his positive attitude.
By the time of his death, Stephen had raised more than £3 million, and this week, the total stood at £4.2 million.
Mum Jane said, “Stephen thought it was an incredible honour to have been nominated and it definitely got the 'thumbs up’. The MBE is a wonderful recognition of his amazing charity work and dedication to Teenage Cancer Trust whilst battling terminal cancer himself.
“It will help promote the continuing legacy of 'Stephen’s Story’, which has created a wave of awareness, engagement and giving that will potentially transform what Teenage Cancer Trust can achieve.
“Although Stephen continually told all of us that he didn’t do his charity work for recognition, even he acknowledged that to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire was 'awesome’.”
