Watch the Remember A Charity Advert here.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust marks its part in the UK’s largest cross charity campaign, Remember A Charity Week (13–19 September), by encouraging people to visit their nearby visitor centres and spend a day enjoying the beauty of some of Scotland’s top wildlife spots while learning from experts in local wildlife.
Remember A Charity Week sees over 140 charities from around the country coming together to highlight the importance of gifts left to charities in wills. Charitable donations in wills are the foundation of many of Britain’s charities, creating nearly £2 billion each year, the equivalent of 25 Comic Reliefs. Without this income most charities’ services would suffer; others would simply not exist.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust runs three visitor centres in Scotland located at Montrose Basin in Angus, Falls of Clyde in New Lanark, and Loch of the Lowes in Dunkeld.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Falls of Clyde Visitor Centre Manager, Willie Buttery, said: “Remember A Charity Week is a great opportunity for us to help people find out more about the important work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and our aim to protect Scotland’s wildlife for the future. A trip to any one of our Visitor Centres makes for a great day out, which combines fun and informative activities in the Centre with stunning outdoor landscapes and the possibilities to see some exciting wildlife such as kingfishers at Falls of Clyde, red squirrels at Loch of the Lowes, or pink-footed geese at Montrose Basin.”
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is joining charities up and down the country, organising activities and events throughout the week. The presence of Remember A Charity Week will also be felt on the high street as hundreds of charity shops will be supporting the week through their window displays and giving away branded tea bags to encourage people to contemplate leaving a gift to charity in their wills.
The flagship activity to mark the week is the ‘Legacies Through A Lens’ photographic exhibition in the OXO Gallery, London. The exhibition’s photos, many of which have been taken by celebrities including Gordon Ramsay, Timothy Spall and Alexandra Burke on behalf of the charities they support, represent what the money from gifts in wills makes possible for charities.
Lucy Graham, Head of Fundraising & Projects said: “Gifts in wills are a vital part of our income and without them, we would struggle to continue our work. We’re asking for people to give a thought to their favourite charity. And when the time is right, after taking care of their loved ones, we hope they’ll remember the Scottish Wildlife Trust in their will and help our work live on for the benefit of present and future generations.”
Stephen George, Chair of Remember A Charity, said: “Many people in the UK don’t realise that they can give money to charities like the Scottish Wildlife Trust in this way. But the truth is, after looking after family and friends, a small share of whatever is left can make a real difference to charities and the invaluable work they do.”
Remember A Charity Week, 13-19 September 2010, is an awareness week organised by charity consortia Remember A Charity, which aims to shine a light on the importance of gifts in wills to charities. Currently only 7% of the UK currently remember a charity in their will.
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For further media information about the Scottish Wildlife Trust, please PR and Communications Manager, on 0131 312 4742 or nmcgovern@swt.org.uk
For media information about Remember A Charity please contact Adrian Chitty or Katie Andrews at Good Relations on 0207 861 3102 or rememberacharity@goodrelations.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland, representing more than 35,000 members who care for wildlife and the environment. The Scottish Wildlife Trust seeks to raise public awareness of threatened habitats and species and manages over 120 reserves Scotland-wide.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland, representing more than 35,000 members who care for wildlife and the environment. The Scottish Wildlife Trust seeks to raise public awareness of threatened habitats and species and manages over 120 reserves Scotland-wide.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust receives financial assistance and support from a number of sources including Scottish Natural Heritage and the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Remember A Charity Week (13-19 September 2010) is an awareness week organised by charity consortia Remember A Charity, which aims to shine a light on the importance of gifts in wills to charities. Currently only 7% of those that have wills go on to remember a charity. For more information visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk
Remember A Charity (www.rememberacharity.org.uk) was formed in 2000 and now has over 140 member charities, who work together to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charities in their will, after they’ve looked after their family and friends. Legacies (or gifts in wills) form the foundation of charities in the UK. Many charities depend on legacies, without them, they would not exist. The consortium is hosted by the Institute of Fundraising.