A GIFT FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Despite living at home with a loving mother, Kathryn committed suicide when she was just 15 years old, after years of struggling with mental health issues. Her mother Gail Witwer-Walter remembers that time 25 years ago like it was yesterday “I was horrified when it happened. As a parent, you never expect to outlive your children. A single mom at the time, I felt like my support system wasn’t as strong as it could be, so this was a particularly hard thing for me to deal with.”
Gail chose to include a bequest in her will to Covenant House Vancouver to commemorate the life of her daughter. “I can’t change what happened in the past, but this bequest will affect the lives of young people in the future. That’s important to me.”
Despite not being in a position to make a significant gift now, Gail knows that her bequest will have a large impact on the lives of young people in the future. That is because this type of gift, a legacy gift, comes from assets rather than income. And the gift is made after an individual’s lifetime rather than during it. Gail also knows that her legacy, and Kathryn’s, will live on in the community.
There are a number of different types of charitable bequests that can be included in your estate plans, but two of the main ones are: a residual bequest that gives all or a percentage of the remainder of your estate to the charity; and a specific bequest that gives a stated gift of cash or property (such as stocks or real estate) to the charity. Legacy giving is a tax savvy way of giving – a charitable bequest results in a receipt that can reduce the amount of tax your estate owes to the government.
When you make a legacy gift to Covenant House Vancouver, you make a positive impact on the youth in our community and you send a powerful message that someone cares.
“I can’t change what happened in the past, but this bequest will affect the lives of young people in the future. That’s important to me.” – Gail Witwer-Walter
I can’t change what happened in the past, but this bequest will affect the lives of young people in the future. That’s important to me.
GAIL WITWERWALTER