Gifts in wills

No parent with a seriously ill child in hospital should have to worry about how they can be by their bedside.

We want every child in hospital to have their family by their side, right now and in the future but we can only achieve this with your help.

Writing a will might be something you’ve thought about, but never got around to. By having a will, you’ll ensure your loved ones are looked after and you’ll have peace of mind about your family’s future. Leaving a gift in your will, even just a small percentage, to The Sick Children’s Trust will help to keep families together who find themselves miles away from home when their child is admitted to hospital and it will help us to plan for the future.

Zariah was rushed 150 miles away from her home in Glasgow to Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital when at six months old she went into heart failure. For seven months, Zariah was on the urgent heart transplant list and for all this time she remained in the Newcastle hospital.

We were able to give her mum, Leeander, a warm and comfortable place to stay at Scott House during that time. A time when she received the most devastating news a mother could be given. A time when she didn’t know if a call would come to say there was a donor heart available for her daughter. A time when she needed to be at her daughter’s side. It was because of generous support from people like you that we could be there for Leeander, so that she could focus on her daughter and remain at her side.

A gift in your will can have a long-lasting impact and help us to keep families together for generations to come. Eckersley House, our ‘Home from Home’ in Leeds, is named after Robert Eckersley, who left a generous gift in his will to charity. His wife, Dolores Halpern (nee Eckersley), explains how she decided to use this gift on a ‘Home from Home’.

“My son, Simon Eckersley, had a chronic kidney disease and was frequently admitted to hospital from the age of two. It was so difficult and painful to have a child in hospital, but fortunately I was able to visit Simon every day. Sadly, this wasn’t the reality for many parents who had difficulty travelling long distances, financing hotels and travel, plus juggling caring for other family members.”

“In 1981 my husband, Robert, died of lung cancer and he left an amount of money to charity which he wanted me to decide on its use. I asked Simon’s paediatrician for some advice, and as soon as he mentioned building a ‘Home from Home’ I knew that was where this gift should go.”