Hospice UK along with the help of hospices across England, Scotland and Wales including St Ann’s Hospice have launched the National Hospice Legacy Campaign to encourage members of the public to leave a gift in their will to their local hospice.
As part of this campaign St Ann’s has spoken to three individuals to gain a broader aspect of what St Ann’s offers to the community. Mike Morris has stage four prostate cancer and has used courses offered by the hospice’s Being You Centre to manage his symptoms, Amanda Clayton availed of the hospice’s grief counselling service following the death of her mum, Jackie at the hospice, and Marguerite Christie has left a gift in her will to St Ann’s and describes how easy the process was.
These three case studies will appear on the St Ann’s website over the course of the two-week long campaign. Also as part of the campaign, Hospice UK have commissioned a 90 second advert that will appear across national TV channels in the UK including ITV and Sky channels.
Gifts are vital to the future of hospice care and are a huge part of the donations St Ann’s receive every year to continue to care for our patients.
Quite often, people will leave a legacy donation because they want to give a significant donation to the hospice but they can’t do that in their lifetime, as their money may be tied up in property.
Even 1% of somebody’s Will can make a massive difference for the hospice, leaving 99% for their loved ones.
“We always say provide for your family and loved ones first but if you can leave us 1% that makes a huge difference,” Anne-Marie Wynne, Head of Fundraising and Capital Campaign at St Ann’s Hospice said.
“To other people who perhaps have a larger estate, there’s a huge tax benefit in terms of donating to a charity,” she added.
Legacy and in-memory donations account for a third of all donations to St Ann’s Hospice, they help provide for the cost of staff, the continued care we provide to those with life-limiting illnesses, they help cover the costs of day therapy services, Hospice @ Home services and so much more.
“We would not be able to open our doors every day if we did not receive those gifts in Wills,” Anne-Marie said.
Mike Morris who has experienced care at St Ann’s first-hand through the hospice’s Being You Centre said: “People should really look at St Ann’s and the work they do. It’s not just about end-of-life care, they have given me ways to live my life with my diagnosis and that is invaluable.
When Mike was referred to St Ann’s by his Macmillan nurse he thought a hospice was a place people go at the end of their life, he did not realise the hospice offered services to help those dealing with a cancer diagnosis, dealing with lymphoedema, and so much more.
“I’ve completed about four courses with St Ann’s. I originally took on the fatigue course as I was really struggling with it at the time. That led onto a breathlessness course, a being you course, and there was also a social one,” Mike said.
In-Memory and Legacy Fundraiser at St Ann’s Hospice, Heather Bennett said many gifts in Wills come from loved ones of those the hospice has cared for in the past.
“Once people see the care we provide to their loved ones admitted into the hospice, loved ones will quite often write us into their will because they want to do something for us,” she said.
Heather said the most important thing for people to realise is how easy it is to leave a gift in Will.
“Quite often the wills that tend to hit the headlines seem to be huge amounts or something interesting or a unique item someone has left as part of a collection but the fact is, the vast majority of wills we receive aren’t huge but together they make a huge difference.
“All people need to know to be able to leave a gift in Will is the hospice name, and the registered charity number (258085) and you can leave a gift of any size. If you let us know you have added us to your Will, we can welcome you into our legacy-giving community and keep you up to date,” she added.
To find out more, visit www.sah.org.uk/legacy