Brave local schoolboy, Charlie Whyte, 11, shaved his head to raise over £1,500 for Edinburgh-based charity The House of Hope, Scotland’s first dedicated wellbeing centre for people impacted by breast cancer.
Inspired by the great work of The House of Hope, where his mum Erin Whyte, works as Fundraising Coordinator, Charlie grew his hair for over eighteen months before bravely shaving his head, as a way of giving back and thanking The House of Hope for everything they do for people and families going through breast cancer treatment.
Charlie said: “I was inspired by a House of Hope member who came in and got her hair shaved off and she raised a lot of money and so I wanted to do the same thing.
“I felt excited and a bit nervous but overall honoured to be able to shave my hair off. A massive thank you to everyone who donated and I’m actually speechless about how much I managed to raise.”
Mum Erin said: “I’m just so proud of him. It was his idea to raise funds by growing and shaving his hair. Charlie is a regular volunteer and supporter at The House of Hope and he was really inspired after seeing people using our bespoke wig and hair salon while going through treatment for breast cancer. He’s a real House of Hope Hero and I couldn’t be prouder.”
The House of Hope celebrates its first anniversary in June 2026 and has delivered support to over 200 people and their families impacted by breast cancer.
To mark the anniversary, a 1k Your Way challenge has been launched to encourage supporters to do 1k every day for 30 days in June any way they like - whether that's running, walking, cycling or even rowing, whatever gets it done! - to raise money to support people impacted by breast cancer.
