Remember A Charity Week
Monday 13th September 2010
Don't forget wildlife in your will
Remember A Charity Week, which runs from Monday 13 to Sunday 19 September, is being marked by Wildlife Trusts up and down the UK, who are holding events to encourage people to leave a legacy for wildlife.
The week sees over 140 charities from around the country coming together to highlight the importance of gifts left to charities in wills. Charitable donations in wills are the foundation of many of Britain’s charities, creating nearly £2 billion each year, the equivalent of 25 Comic Reliefs. Without this income most charities’ services would suffer; others would simply not exist.
Local Wildlife Trusts will join charities up and down the country, organising activities and events throughout the week. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is hosting an afternoon tea, whilst the Scottish Wildlife Trust is branding all of its visitor centres for the duration of the week.
The flagship activity to mark the week is the ‘Legacies Through A Lens’ photographic exhibition in the OXO Gallery, London. The exhibition’s photos, many of which have been taken by celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Timothy Spall and Alexandra Burke on behalf of the charities they support, represent what the money from gifts in wills makes possible for charities.
The photograph representing The Wildlife Trusts has been taken by Ed Miller at Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust’s Moor Copse Nature Reserve, which the late Lewis E. Trevers OBE left to the Trust in his will. His kind action continues to protect wildlife there today. The exhibition is open to the public throughout the week.
Kate Barker, Membership & Legacy Manager for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Many people don’t realise that they can give a gift in their will to charities like The Wildlife Trusts. But the truth is, after looking after family and friends, a small share of whatever is left can make a real difference to our work.
“For example, gifts left to local Wildlife Trusts have helped buy wildflower meadows and create wetlands for otters.”
Remember A Charity Week, 13-19 September 2010, is an awareness week organised by charity consortia Remember A Charity, which aims to shine a light on the importance of gifts in wills to charities. Currently only 7% of the UK currently remember a charity in their will.
Story by RSWT