October 4-10, 2020, is Make-a-Will Week in British Columbia. Its purpose is to encourage the public to write their Will or bring an existing will up-to-date.
We wanted to share how donor Louisa’s legacy of caring and community will live on thanks to a gift in her Will.
When Louisa was just 20, she moved to Canada from post-war Holland in 1958. It was a very big move and Louisa did not have a network of support in Canada. Her parents had split up when she was young and the only way to stay in touch with her mother on the other side of the world was by mail. Her brother passed away very unexpectedly when he was just 28 and the only living relative, she had in Canada was an aunt in Ontario who Louisa rarely connected with.
She thinks this one of the reasons why she cares so much about young people especially those who lack family support. The young people we work with at Covenant House Vancouver often have little or no family support. One of Louisa’s jobs was driving a school bus, and she enjoyed connecting with young people and having a positive impact on their lives.
Coming from such humble beginnings, Louisa was struck by the homeless population in Vancouver, a problem that seems to have got worse over the years. “In such an affluent society, it’s an absolute disgrace that we have people living on the street,” she says. Living on a fixed income, she chose to support Covenant House Vancouver with a gift in her Will, to allow her legacy to live on in the lives of our community’s youth, and their friends and families.
Louisa’s gift, made in memory of her dear friend Audrey, is known as a “residual gift”. This means Covenant House Vancouver will receive a portion of the residue of her estate after all of Louisa’s expenses have been taken care of. This gives Louisa the peace of mind that she can continue her current way of life including connecting with friends, enjoying arts and culture, and travelling occasionally. “Audrey would have been so proud of what this gift will achieve in her name, young people were so important to her,” says Louisa.
Charitable gifts through a Will are simple to arrange, you just need a paragraph in your Will that is easy to insert. This paragraph can easily be provided by Covenant House Vancouver or can be found here.
For more information on Legacy Gifts, please contact:
Celia Campos,
Manager, Legacy Giving
604-757-6068
ccampos@covenanthousebc.org.
