This Will to Give Week, we’re celebrating the personal reasons people choose to leave a gift in their Will and the lasting difference those gifts can make.
For many of us, saying thank you is something simple. We say it to someone who has helped us, supported us or made a difference in our lives.
But sometimes, thank you can mean something more.
For many people, leaving a gift to charity in their Will is a very special way to say thank you.
It might be a thank you to an organisation that supported them or someone they love during a difficult time. It might reflect a cause that has been important throughout their life. Or it might simply be a way of giving something back and helping others in the future.
This Will to Give Week, 7-11 September 2026, we’re sharing stories from Will to Give members that show some of the very personal reasons people choose to leave gifts in their Wills and what that generosity can make possible.
Helping people through difficult times
For AWARE NI supporter Alan, his decision grew directly from personal experience.
After experiencing mental health difficulties himself, Alan received mental health training from AWARE NI before becoming a Group Facilitator with its Bangor and Newtownards support groups. Having seen the organisation’s work first-hand, he later chose to include a gift to AWARE NI in his Will.
Alan says that although his family comes first, knowing that his legacy will help services continue into the future gives him great pride.
At Action Mental Health, another legacy came from someone whose connection with the charity had also been deeply personal.
His sister recalled how much the organisation meant to her late brother, describing the staff and fellow clients he met there as providing “oases of normality” during difficult periods in his life. His gift to the charity was, she explained, given in appreciation of the support he had received.
Legacy support can also help organisations continue providing practical services that transform everyday lives.
After surgery left him much more limited in what he could do, John contacted the Age NI Advice Line to ask whether he was entitled to additional benefits. The support he received resulted in an increase in Pension Credit which, he says, changed his lifestyle, helping him get out, travel and meet people again.
Building opportunities for the future
Sometimes the impact of a legacy can be seen in something very tangible.
L’Arche Belfast received an unexpected legacy at a point when it had an opportunity to secure a long-term lease on land for its Day Opportunities services.
According to CEO Scott Shively, without that legacy funding the organisation would not have been able to lease and develop the site. Today, its L’Arche Village in the Castlereagh Hills welcomes more than 100 participants each week, offering activities including horticulture, arts and crafts, cookery, music and dance.
At Queen’s University Belfast, the legacy of Dr Claire Slattery reflects a lifelong passion for medicine and education.
Dr Slattery graduated in Medicine from Queen’s in 1962 and went on to become a consultant paediatrician and respected educator. Her gift now supports the Slattery Family Scholarship, helping undergraduate medical students undertaking an intercalated year with tuition fees.
Her niece believes Claire would have wanted others to have the same opportunities she had enjoyed, without financial barriers.
Continuing kindness and compassion
For Evora Hospice pledger Alan, leaving a gift is about ensuring compassionate care continues for people he may never meet.
After many years working in the Ambulance Service, Alan had seen first-hand the pressures families face when someone they love is seriously ill. Those experiences stayed with him.
He chose to remember Evora Hospice in his Will so that future families can continue receiving care, dignity and support.
As he explains, knowing his kindness will continue gives him peace of mind.
Protecting the things we love
A thank you doesn’t always come from having received a service. Sometimes it reflects gratitude for something that has brought meaning, happiness or companionship throughout someone’s life.
Long-standing RSPB supporter Marlies has chosen to leave a gift in her Will because she believes we need to restore the balance between people and nature.
For her, the decision is ultimately about future generations and ensuring the landscapes and wildlife she has valued continue to be protected.
And for the USPCA, gifts in Wills are central to its ability to protect animals across Northern Ireland.
The charity says legacy gifts currently account for 58% of its income. Last year alone, supporter generosity helped enable 1,654 wildlife rescues, 368 rehomings, almost 7,900 pet-food parcels and nearly 7,850 free veterinary consultations.
For an organisation that receives no government funding, these gifts provide vital support for work that continues every day.
What could your legacy make possible?
These stories are very different, but they have something important in common.
A gift in a Will often begins with something deeply personal.
For help received during a difficult time. For an opportunity that changed a life. For care and compassion. For the natural world. For the companionship of animals. Or simply for an organisation and a cause that has meant something to someone during their lifetime.
Leaving a gift in a Will can turn that gratitude into something lasting.
This Will to Give Week, we’re celebrating every person who chooses to make the causes they care about part of their story.
What could your legacy make possible?
