Wildlife charity calling on the public to become ‘Willanthropists’ this September

It’s Remember A Charity Week next week (9 – 15 September) and Northumberland Wildlife Trust is urging members of the public to remember the region’s wildlife, that all too often gets forgotten.

The week-long event aims to raise awareness of the importance of leaving legacies to favourite charities and to highlight the fact that charities rely on legacies to keep them going.

This year, the wildlife charity is joining forces with almost two hundred charities, hundreds of legal firms, and partners to celebrate the phenomenal impact of gifts in Wills in funding vital charitable services for future generations.

Raising £4 billion for good causes across the UK each year, charitable gifts in Wills commonly referred to as ‘Wilanthropy’ have never been more needed or more valued, according to charity consortium Remember A Charity.

It is a common myth that only the rich and famous leave money to charity when they die. This could not be further from the truth. The reality is that without the gifts left in Wills, charities such as Northumberland Wildlife Trust would struggle to continue doing some of its work.

Past legacies have contributed towards the purchase of an area of coastline at Druridge Bay for development as a new nature reserve and a legacy from the late George Swan, emeritus professor of organic chemistry at Newcastle University helped the Trust purchase the 600-acre Benshaw Moor in Redesdale to save its important wildlife and habitats including peatland and limestone springs from intensive commercial forestry and the installation of wind turbines.

However, it’s not just large sums of money that help the wildlife charity. Legacies have paid for pots of paint for wildlife crafting, nets and trays for pond dipping, bird food and gloves for its army of volunteers.

This winter, the Trust will be planting a number of trees including oak, juniper, dwarf birch and bog myrtle on its Whitelee Moor reserve at the behest of a nature lover who sadly passed away recently.

“Northumberland Wildlife Trust is dedicated to wildlife conservation. Making a gift to us when a person writes or updates their Will is a very special way of ensuring we can continue to undertake our work on our 60+ reserves.

“A donation will mean a new nature reserve can be purchased, a rare habitat secured or that people who have the skills and passion to protect wildlife can continue to do this.

“Let’s not forget how everybody turned to their local green spaces during the covid lockdowns, so why not give a little back to protect these areas?”

~ Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive

For more information visit: www.nwt.org.uk/support-us/leave-gift-your-will