Remember A Charity Week helps so much

NOW in its tenth year, September 9 to 15 is Remember A Charity Week.

Princess Alice Hospice, in Esher, is proud to be joining more than 200 charities across the country to celebrate all the amazing individuals who support our vital services by leaving a gift to charity in their will.

Currently only around 6% of us do this. But even this has a major impact, raising in the past year more than £3 billion across the country.

Princess Alice Hospice needs to raise £9.9 million every year to continue providing the best care and support before, during and after death.

Over the past year, we have continued to be the leading provider of free ‘outstanding’ palliative and end of life care, without exception, both within the hospice and in our communities, which spans a care area of more than 600 square miles (or 1,600km). We serve the community across a large part of Surrey, south west London and parts of Middlesex.

The hospice receives only 23% of its funding from the NHS grants – a proportion of which is predicted to shrink in the near future. The rest of our income comes through fundraising and donations.

Around a half of these funds come via wills and legacies, so your readers will appreciate how heavily we rely on the generosity of people deciding to make a gift in their will. Raising awareness of the importance of these legacy donations, and encouraging others to do so, is crucial.

The theme for the Remember A Charity Week is ‘pass on something wonderful’ and will see the launch of a humorous 1970s-inspired campaign on social media.

A series of comedy films will aim to challenge some of the most common misconceptions around gifts in wills.

Remember A Charity Week shines a light on the importance of gifts in wills to charities, and how by leaving just a small gift in your will to a charity or cause you support, you can pass on something wonderful by helping vital work continue long into the future.

It is our sincere hope that the community served by Princess Alice Hospice will consider including a gift in their will in our favour.

Even a small amount would make a difference. Alison Adams Princess Alice Hospice By email