Gifts in Wills Guide

WELCOME

MEET AUDREY

Firstly, I’d like to thank you for considering leaving a gift in your will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity. Should you decide to leave a gift, you will be creating brighter futures for our young patients and their families.

As the CEO I’m often amazed by the strong affection Alder Hey receives. We see everything from sponsored head shaves to the setting up of regular donations in response to our TV adverts. And whilst we’re fortunate to receive some large gifts from a few wealthy people, Trusts and companies, most of our donations come from generous individuals, including gifts in wills.

The charity is dedicated to raising funds to help support Alder Hey Children’s Hospital - the busiest children’s hospital in the UK. The support of kind people like you takes us a step closer to developing the next generation of medical discoveries and enhancing the way in which we treat and interact with our brave young patients.

Your legacy could have a lasting impact long into the future and create brighter futures. Thank you for considering this wonderful gesture.

Fiona Ashcroft, Chief Executive.

During her lifetime, Audrey Griffiths experienced the magic of Alder Hey on two occasions.

Her daughter, Elizabeth, was admitted to Alder Hey as a toddler and successfully overcame a health issue. Years later, Madog, the son of a close family friend was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 2. Madog, now 7, was successfully treated at Alder Hey, and at the time of Audrey’s passing in early 2020, he was ‘out of the woods’ and now attends the hospital for check-ups twice a year.

We can develop better, safer medicines and treatment to benefit young patients at Alder Hey and children across the world - with your help.

It was these experiences that influenced Audrey’s decision to leave a gift in her will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity.

Elizabeth recalls: “My mother was a remarkable person who is much missed by me and so many others whose lives she touched. She thought carefully about her legacies and wanted to acknowledge the role played by clinicians in Alder Hey in helping not only our family but also in their support of Madog and his family.”

Audrey sadly passed away in January 2020 aged 98, but her legacy lives on in the happy, healthy futures her gift is helping to secure at Alder Hey.

AUDREY’S IMPACT

Audrey’s kindness is changing the way our young patients learn to communicate.

Last year, donations, including gifts left in supporters’ wills, went towards an online communication aid for Speech and Language Therapy patients at Alder Hey.

The programme provides support for young patients with varying needs and delivers consistency between the help they receive in school and hospital. This has been so important during recent months and our clinician colleagues are really happy with how this new tool is shaping their work in supporting children and young people.

The programme is providing appropriate, flexible support for the needs of a wide range of patients as well as delivering consistency between the help children receive in school and in hospital. This tool has been so important in ensuring that their care could continue throughout lockdown.

As Emma Burgess, Speech and Language Therapist, explains:

As so many of our children with communication and learning needs benefit from visuals to support their understanding and use of language, this is an invaluable tool for the Speech and Language team.

MEET

SUMMER

Your donations created a magical ward experience

Summer, who has Down’s syndrome, became ill with a virus and rash before she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells.

Summer’s Consultant, Dr Chris Howell explains “ALL is the most common form of cancer affecting children. It is also more common in children with Down’s syndrome. In ALL an abnormal population of immature white blood cells is present and begins taking over the normal production of blood. Treatment for ALL has a number of phases. It is most intensive at the beginning, and Summer had a tough time for the first few weeks as she was in and out of hospital with temperatures and other chemotherapy side effects.”

One day during her treatment she was visited by Georgina, an Arts for Health practitioner at Alder Hey and a cellist at the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. As soon as Georgina started playing Summer’s mood improved, she sat up in bed, started clapping and engaged with the staff.

Mum Leanne says she sincerely believes that Summer would have “given up” had Georgina not called in and played music that day.

Georgina is clear about the impact of music on our young patients: “By just walking on a ward with a cello and a trolley filled with percussion instruments, young people gather that I’m bringing something different,

something non-judgmental, non-medical. The live sound of music on a ward can create a point of focus, it brings people together, we build trust, have fun and keep a sense of play.”

CALL US

Gift in wills from our supporters transform the work that we can fund; from stateof-the-art equipment to magical ward experiences for our brave young patients. Even 1% of someone’s estate can make the world of difference to us, while still providing the security of 99% to their friends and family.

We have partnered with trusted solicitors and will writers to ensure that supporters of Alder Hey Children’s Charity can write their wills for free - either online, via telephone or through a video consultation. turn to page 6 for more details.

Dr Chris Howell said: “Summer is now in the maintenance phase of her treatment, which mainly consists of regular clinic appointments and oral chemotherapy given at home, and is now full of energy and never stops going.”

Creating child-friendly surroundings and helping stimulate ill children is an important part of Alder Hey’s remit and is just one of the many ways in which gifts in wills help to change lives for the better in hospital and beyond.

DID YOU KNOW?

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital treats over 330,000 young patients every year

We hope the information in the following pages is useful for when you come to write or update your will and that our brave young patients will inspire you to consider your own legacy and create brighter futures.

DANIEL’S STORY

For the first few years of Daniel Bell’s life, he was like any other toddler. Full of energy, happy and full of life at home in Ormskirk. But doctors soon discovered Daniel had a brain tumour the size of a fist.

At aged three, mum Rosalind and dad Colin noticed a change in Daniel’s behaviour. He wasn’t the same happy-go-lucky toddler he used to be. Rosalind explains “His personality literally changed. He was grumpy, had lots of tantrums, was sick and went back to sleeping in the day too, which was the total opposite of what he was previously.”

Thankfully Rosalind recognised some of the symptoms of a brain tumour. Daniel was taken to Ormskirk A&E, who quickly realised the severity of the situation and Daniel was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Once at Alder Hey, Daniel was taken straight to theatre, where Neurosurgeon Ms Sasha Burns drained fluid on his brain during a 3 hour life-saving operation. The next day, Daniel’s tumour was removed during a 9 hour operation by Professor Conor Mallucci, who had rushed back from London to perform the procedure.

“Professor Mallucci told us that Daniel had a cystic tumour which was the size of an adult’s fist and there was a possibility of Daniel losing motor and mobility skills as the result of the procedure,” explained Rosalind.

Yet Daniel’s operation was a success, made possible by the use of Alder Hey’s 3-T MRI scanner, a pioneering scanner which allows surgeons to scan the brain in theatre. Alder Hey is the first hospital in Europe to have this technology, which was fully funded by Alder Hey Children’s Charity.

Daniel was rushed straight to Alder Hey, which is a centre of excellence for brain conditions. “It was like the bottom had fallen out of my world; our lives changed in a split second. We were told he needed to go to Alder Hey right away and we were blue-lighted to Liverpool,” says Rosalind.

Professor Mallucci successfully managed to remove the whole of Daniel’s tumour and after two weeks in Alder Hey, Daniel went home.

Rosalind added: “Daniel is now a happy, healthy and very active little boy who loves being with his friends, playing Minecraft and raising money for Alder Hey Children’s Charity.”

The surgeon creating brighter futures MEET PROFESSOR CONOR MALLUCCI

The surgeon behind Daniel’s life-saving surgery was world-renowned paediatric neurosurgeon, Professor Conor Mallucci. Conor understands better than anyone the impact a brain tumour can have on a child as well as their family and is grateful for the outstanding medical equipment he has at his disposal at Alder Hey.

As Conor explained: “We published a paper which showed that in 15% of brain tumours in all the children who we have operated on since having the intraoperative MRI scanner, we were able to do a complete resectionthat’s 15% more lives saved. Alder Hey really was able to lead with this technology and it was something that could not have been achieved through any other route than a charitable donation.”

This life-saving piece of technology continues to have a major impact more than a decade after charitable gifts made its purchase possible. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, the intraoperative MRI scanner is creating brighter futures for children like Daniel and their families from all over the world.

“If you can imagine having a child in the family diagnosed with a brain tumour, it changes not only their own lives but their whole family’s life.

Here at Alder Hey, we were the first children’s hospital to have an intraoperative MRI scanner for brain tumours, the technology I used to understand and help remove Daniel’s tumour. We’ve become world leaders with this crucial technology and have saved many, many children’s lives.”

This state-of-the-art piece of equipment was fully funded by the charity and has placed Alder Hey as a world leader in the use of this technology for children.

DID YOU KNOW?

This year the charity has been proud to fund over £732,845 towards life-saving equipment and advanced technologies

WILLS CREATE BRIGHTER FUTURES

Imagine if your legacy could bring music to the wards to be enjoyed by children like Summer.

Imagine if your legacy could buy the very latest medical equipment to help save the lives of children like Daniel.

You don’t have to imagine…

A gift in your will – whatever the size – will enable Alder Hey to fund crucial projects that enable us to transform so many young liveslives like Summer’s and Daniel’s. Your legacy could have a lasting impact long into the future.

Making your will and keeping it up to date also ensures that your family, friends and causes that you care about are taken care of. We realise that your loved ones come first, but a gift in your will to Alder Hey would mean a lasting legacy for children and young people across the whole of the UK.

We understand that everyone is different, that’s why we have partnered with trusted solicitors and will-writers to help you to write your Will for free - online, over the phone or via video appointment making it as simple and convenient as possible for you. You can start the process from the comfort of your own home.

We are happy to recommend our provider, Farewill:

Farewill is the largest will writer in the UK and has won multiple awards for its service, including National Will Writing Firm of the Year 2019 and 2020 at the British Wills & Probate Awards. To use Farewill to write your will online, simply visit https://farewill.com/alderhey-family and use the code ‘ALDERHEY-FAMILY’

“I wrote my will through Farewill (one of Alder Hey’s free will writing partners) last year and it was very straightforward. I did it online and the website took you through the process in a really logical way. Everything was then checked by the Farewill team, and then all that was left to do was to get it signed and witnessed. Nice and easy!”

John Armstrong, supporter of Alder Hey Children’s Charity

FAQS ABOUT WILLS

Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about leaving a gift in a will.

Can I write my own will?

You can write your own will, but we recommend using a qualified solicitor to make a new will or amend an existing one. Using a solicitor will give you peace of mind that your will is valid and legally sound, and that your wishes will be met. Whilst you may have your own solicitor, Alder Hey Children’s Charity is partnered with several who can start the process for you for free - see page 8 for details.

If I already have a will do I need to make a new one?

You may be able to record any changes simply by adding a codicil or a letter of wishes to your current will, although it is best to check with a solicitor.

How do I include a gift to Alder Hey Children’s Charity in my will?

A solicitor can advise you as to what type of gift you may wish to leave, but as a starting point you can provide them with our address and registered charity number.

Our registered charity number is 1160661 and our registered address is Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP.

Is tax payable on my donation?

Any gift you make to UK charities is free of inheritance tax.

Who can I talk to about making a will and leaving a gift to Alder Hey Children’s Charity?

We hope everything you need to know is included in this pack, but should you have any questions, please do get in touch with our Legacy Manager who will be more than happy to provide any information or reassurance you need.

Email: info@alderheycharity.org

Telephone: 0151 252 5716

MAKING A WILL - 5 KEY STEPS

1. Create a list of what to leave and to whom

2. Choose and ask at least two people you trust to be executors

3. Speak to a solicitor or will-writing expert to have your will drawn up

4. Keep your will safe and secure (ideally with your solicitor)

5. Let your family know if you’ve included Alder Hey Children’s Charity in your will

HOW YOUR GIFT WILL BE USED

Your gift will be used to fund life-saving medical equipment, research and much more.

If you do decide to leave a gift in your will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity, then you will be making a huge, positive difference to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Such a gift, whatever the size, will go towards creating brighter futures for thousands of children and their families.

Every year Alder Hey cares for 330,000 patients and families who rely on donations to fund life-saving medical equipment and facilities – purchases that your gift will go towards. Not only do gifts in wills enable us to buy equipment and develop our hospital, they also help us to provide emotional support to our patients and their families, ensuring that their time at Alder Hey is as comfortable as possible.

OUR PROMISE

We recognise that any gift you choose to leave in your will is special and we are proud to make these promises to you.

As well as brand-new, life-changing technology and investment in innovation, a gift in your will could ensure that every child and young person experiences the Alder Hey magic – those little added extras that make the hospital experience the best it can be for patients and their families. Your gift could fund programmes such as ward musicians and on-site magicians which brighten up a child’s time in our hospital.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thanks to generous supporters like you we have raised over £56,000,000 since 2013

When you leave a gift in your will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity we:

• Promise to use your gift wisely

• Realise you might want your gift used in a special way

• Recognise that those closest to you come first

• Understand that you might have to change your mind due to a change in personal circumstances

• Will never put pressure on you to leave a gift in your will

• Will treat you and your next of kin sensitively and with respect and gratitude

GET IN TOUCH

Should you be interested in leaving a gift in your will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity, we would love to know.

If you would like to contact us by post, please fill in the form below.

Legacy Pledge Form

Returning this form lets us know about any gift you are kind enough to leave Alder Hey in the future. Thank you for your lasting support and for helping us to give children brighter futures.

Name:

Address:

Email:

Phone:

I’ve already included a gift in my will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity

I intend to include a gift in my will to Alder Hey Children’s Charity

I would like somebody to contact me to discuss gift options

I am not interested in leaving a gift in my will at this time

Simply tear out and return this form to FREEPOST Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP and we’ll be in touch. Alternatively you can email info@alderheycharity.org or call 0151 252 5716 for more information.

Alder Hey Children’s Charity would like to keep you informed about everything that we do for our young patients.

Please tick if you would rather we didn’t contact you by post or by phone

Please tick if you are happy for us to contact you by text or by email