Twenty-four stars over twenty-four days as part of one woman’s mission to save lives. That’s the Inspired By Millie campaign that was kicked off on 1st December by Anthony Nolan with a star-studded advent calendar revealing one mystery star every day to say a few words about why you should do something amazing for a stranger during the season of goodwill.
Millie was inspiring. And she loved Christmas. That’s why, ten years after Millie died from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, her sister Annabella has made it her mission to save lives in Millie’s memory this December – by enlisting the help of some of the world’s biggest celebrities, who will feature in our star-studded advent calendar this month.
“My sister would have been 31 this year,” said Annabella. “We should be celebrating Christmas together as a family, as we always did. It’s strange and very sad to think we’ve now had ten years of celebrating Christmas without her. This campaign is the perfect way to remember her this Christmas – she was an inspiration.”
Millie, from Keig, Aberdeenshire, was a “naughty but nice”, fun-loving teenager who loved fashion, sports and parties. But everything changed when she was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 19. During her two year battle with leukaemia, Millie and her family inspired more than 2,000 people to sign up to the Anthony Nolan register. A suitable donor was found for Millie and she had a transplant, but Millie sadly relapsed and died in August 2004, aged 21.
“It makes me so proud to think there are people alive today because of my big sister. I never stop missing her and I wanted to do something special to remember Millie, so I decided to continue her lifesaving work.”
An advent calendar to cure blood cancer
An interactive online calendar is now live showcasing a series of 24 films which will be released one by one throughout December as a celebrity advent calendar on Anthony Nolan’s social media channels. But this isn’t just any celebrity advent calendar – this one could cure blood cancer.
“These people didn’t know me, or Millie, so it means the world to my family that these celebrities have been inspired by Millie’s story and taken five minutes to film themselves at work, at home and even in their kitchens, to encourage their fans to sign up,” said Annabella.
“Any one of their fans who join the register could end up saving the life of a stranger. If enough people watch and share these videos, this project could mean the difference between life and death for someone like Millie.”
Every day from now until Christmas, Anthony Nolan will reveal one mystery star who has been #InspiredbyMillie and wants to say a few words about why you should do something amazing for a stranger during the season of goodwill.
Follow @AnthonyNolan on Twitter and on Facebook to stay up to date with the #InspiredbyMillie celebrity advent calendar. You won’t believe who’s behind the door…
Visit the #InspiredbyMillie webpage here
