Knowing you can make a legacy gift is a great source of comfort and gratification.
Your legacy is a reflection of your values, and what you believe is most important. A legacy honours the people and organizations that have profoundly touched your life. A legacy merges past, present and future generations.
A legacy gift in your Will is your way of continuing to support the people and organizations that you value most. It is also a source of great satisfaction, knowing that your hard work over the years will continue to touch lives and have an impact on future generations.
When it comes time to think about the legacy we will leave, our first thoughts go
to the priorities we have had and the values that have defined our lives. Usually that means family, friends, the spiritual values we have observed, as well as the causes that have touched us or that we have supported. When it comes time to think about our legacy, we easily narrow it down to the things that have really mattered to us during our lives.
For more information on planned giving, keep on reading below the image or download a copy of our brochure (PDF).
Continuing to make a difference
Creating a legacy is our way of leaving our voice, leaving our footprints and continuing to make a difference even after we are gone.
Many people choose to remember their favourite charity when they create their legacy. And health care is usually a high priority, as it has so often profoundly impacted our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Health challenges and the health care and interventions we receive are among the most important determinants of our quality of life.
Through your legacy, you can continue to have an impact on your entire community by supporting health care at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH) – health care that touches everyone, health care that saves lives every day.
Every year, new discoveries and medical advances are made in research laboratories around the world. Those discoveries are then translated into better treatments, more effective technologies and more accurate diagnostic tools. They make better health care possible. These treatments and tools are then made available to the medical community, but are not always available due to a lack of resources in most hospitals. But, through the generosity of a local community, state-of-the- art medical equipment can become available to patients.
This investment saves lives, restores health and provides better quality of life for those living with chronic disease.
With a gift through your will, you can help ensure that in the future, HGH will continue to have the best medical tools and treatments available for all its patients. You can influence the future of health care for HGH and help provide resources that have not even been discovered yet!
Honouring a generous gift
Many who choose to leave a bequest to HGH in their will are grateful for the excellent care they have received, often over many years. Mrs. Joan Orr Vowles was no exception, as described by her stepdaughter, Martha Vowles.
“My parents, Alan and Audrey Vowles, lived in the village of Cushing all their married life. My mother passed away in the Palliative Care Unit of HGH in 2000. Throughout her final illness, her longtime friend, Joan Orr Hartley, kept in close touch and visited her often. I recall many conversations in which we praised the staff for the exemplary care my mother received at HGH.
Just over two years after my mother’s death, my dad and Joan married, to the delight of their families. By this time, both were in their late seventies, and had many of the health concerns common in people at that stage of their lives. Over the next twelve years, there were several medical crises. After each emergency admission, round of diagnostic tests, or outpatient treatment, they talked about the kindness and competence of the doctors, nurses, rehab professionals, dietary staff, and all the other important people who make up HGH’s care team.
Joan told me many times that she intended to leave a generous gift in her Will to support the hospital, in recognition of the care she and Alan, and her friend, Audrey, had received. When she passed, I was honoured to be the person to send that donation on my stepmother’s behalf. Our family feels such pride in knowing Joan’s gift has had an impact on so many people’s lives and we are touched by how much HGH appreciates her kindness.”
HGH is honoured to acknowledge Mrs. Orr Vowles’ support by placing a plaque in her name on the hospital’s new outdoor rooftop terrace and lounge. This was an obvious choice for her family, as Mrs. Orr Vowles loved the outdoors and recognized the value of fresh air, sunshine, and a gentle breeze to lift the spirit and heal the body.
Gifting through your will
As we age, we become more aware of the impact of health on our quality of life. Many of us have experienced a health concern, accident, or are living with a chronic disease. This may rob us of our energy or prevent us – or those we love – from living a full life and enjoying friends, family and the freedom we all hope for during our later years. We value health care because it improves our quality of life every day.
With a gift through your Will, you can help ensure that local health care and facilities continue to be available in our region, and even expanded, so that our most vulnerable residents are given the opportunity to maximize their health and quality of life.
Many of us can point to a special medical service or area of the hospital that has greatly impacted the lives of our loved ones. We hesitate to reflect on what might have happened without such services as the HGH Emergency Department, the Cardiac Care Team or the Diabetes Clinic. Whatever area of the hospital that has directly improved our lives is very special to us and will be forever in our thoughts.
With a gift through your will, you can help ensure that any special hospital department is honoured and given additional support for equipment or facilities in order to do the work they do so well. You can express your gratitude for their commitment and allow them to continue to provide excellent health care to those whose lives they touch every day.
A gift to HGH in your will allows you to:
- Give thanks for the care and compassion received at HGH
- Express your confidence and trust in HGH
Why give to HGH?
Since our philanthropic Foundation was created to support the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital in 1987, we have been inspired by the generosity of our community. Whether business leaders, families, or residents of Prescott and Russell and surrounding areas, our supporters say that they are eager to support the Foundation because health care impacts every one of us and our health care will impact the future of our region.
Those generous supporters who have made such a difference at HGH include donors who have left a donation in their Will. These legacy donations have been used to help purchase life-saving medical equipment or to support the work of a certain department or hospital clinic. In this way our donors remain a vital and important part of the hospital for generations to come. They can impact what they have most cherished about HGH through the legacy gift.
It has been proven time and again that the quality of health care influences quality of life and the vitality of a community. Ours is flourishing because of the generosity of community members. Here are just a few of the reasons why they are giving to HGH:
- Honour a loved one, a favoured doctor, or a family member
- Create a legacy that will last through the coming generations
- Feel proud of the difference I can make
What is a bequest?
Generally, a bequest is a specific amount of money, or a specific asset (such as real estate), that a donor wishes to be made available to his/her charity of choice.
Donors can decide what type of gift they prefer:
- A donation that is designated to a specific department or for equipment in a certain area of the hospital, which means that this donation restricts the areas and ways in which the charity can spend the funds;
- In special situations, donations can be used to create an Endowment Fund in the donor’s name (or to honour a loved one) where the interest over 10 or 20 years can be used for the specific ways the donor directs. All these details can be easily arranged with the Foundation and your Financial Advisor; or
- A donation that is “unrestricted” in that it will be applied to the area of highest priority at HGH at the time the funds are transferred. This is frequently the choice of donors because there is often no way of knowing so far in advance what the hospital’s circumstances will be. For example, several years ago we would never have imagined being able to acquire an MRI for our own hospital and yet some years later, this became a major priority for the Foundation. During the course of our Access 2018 Campaign, we received several unrestricted bequests that we were pleased to allocate to help purchase the new MRI. We take great pleasure knowing that the donors who made those unrestricted provisions would be proud of the significant milestone of having this sophisticated technology in our region. So many lives will be influenced by this advanced technology and so many people will benefit having this service right here in Hawkesbury.
How does it work?
At the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital Foundation, we understand that planning your legacy is very personal and often very private.
Your estate plans can be determined with the help of a Financial or Legal Advisor and you may or may not wish to share your plans with your family. We understand that and are able to provide confidential support and arrangements should you wish to have our assistance.
With the scope of the hospital being so wide and impacting so many people every day, even a modest gift can have a far- reaching impact on any area of the hospital.
It is a simple process to include HGH in your estate plans. Most people will accomplish this by designating a gift in their Last Will and Testament to support HGH, which means that a specific amount, or a percentage of the residue of your estate, will become available for HGH upon your death.
Although it is a formal legal document, your Last Will and Testament can be changed at any time, and as many times as you wish, until the moment of your death. Donors often want to consider how best to remember family members and then make provision for their favourite charities.
It is sometimes thought that only very wealthy people can make a difference through a bequest, but this is not the case. At HGH, we gratefully receive several gifts from estates each year in all sizes.
Sample wording
Although we highly recommend that those interested in legacy gifts seek the advice of a professional advisor, following is a sample of wording that can be used to include the HGH Foundation in your Will. This wording is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice, which you should obtain from a lawyer.
For a donation that can be allocated to current hospital priorities:
I give (insert dollar amount, property to be given, percentage of the estate, or “the remainder of my estate”) to the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital Foundation, a non-profit corporation charitable registration #118921592 RR0001, for its general use and purposes.
For a donation that is designated to support a specific hospital department or service:
I give (insert dollar amount, property to be given, percentage of the estate, or “the remainder of my estate”) to the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital Foundation, a non-profit corporation charitable registration #118921592 RR0001, to support (insert designation, hospital department or purpose) at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital.
HGH honours its legacy donors
While many donors include a donation to HGH in their Last Will and Testament, some do not inform the Foundation that they have made this provision. While this is, of course, up to each donor, the Foundation and the hospital would very much like to meet with individuals who are planning their legacy gifts. We can provide options for your support, we can provide a private tour of the hospital to help you in your decision and we can introduce you to senior hospital leaders whose vision for the future can impact your decision.
In addition, the Foundation will have the opportunity to thank you in advance and to show you the far- reaching impact of your support. We can also discuss recognition of your donation and learn how best we can meet your needs and serve your wishes as we demonstrate our appreciation for your generosity.
The HGH Foundation exists to serve its donors and so whatever your wishes are for privacy, anonymity or for any form of recognition, we always follow your instructions to the strictest detail.
For more information, kindly contact the HGH Foundation
Telephone: 613-632-1111 ext. 21101
Email: foundation@hgh.ca