Forget Me Not joins national hospice campaign highlighting role of gifts in wills

Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice has joined 127 hospices across the UK in a national campaign aiming to highlight the contribution that gifts in wills make to hospice care.

The This is Hospice Care campaign, led by Hospice UK, launched on Monday the 16th of February and is due to run for two weeks across TV, radio and online.

Hospice UK said its latest data suggests gifts in wills fund the equivalent of around 400,000 nights of hospice care each year. The charity also said 310,000 adults and children with terminal or life-limiting illness were supported by hospices last year, with demand for palliative care projected to increase by 25% by 2048.

Forget Me Not said legacy gifts helped fund care for one in five of the children it supported during 2024–25, at its purpose-built Russell House hospice in Huddersfield and across West Yorkshire.

Gemma Redford (pictured), memory and legacies fundraiser at Forget Me Not, said:

“From day one, Forget Me Not children’s hospice has been powered by our amazing community of supporters. Their support means we can be here for local children with life-shortening conditions and their families, providing superb nursing care, hydrotherapy, creative therapy, days out, memory making, end of life care, bereavement support and counselling, and much more, beginning as early as pregnancy for some families.

This year, those vital services will cost £6.5 million, over 80% of which we have to raise through fundraising, retail and other income generation initiatives. Gifts in wills play a key role in making all of this possible – last year they helped to fund one in five of the children we supported.

It’s easy to leave a gift in your will too – we even offer a free will-writing service that you can find on our website. Even a 1% gift will make a huge difference to our charity, while also ensuring your loved ones are protected in the future too.

We hope this national campaign will help to raise the profile of hospice care and the difference gifts in wills can make, helping us and our many dedicated colleagues around the UK provide outstanding care to all who need it in their community.”

Hospice UK’s Director of Income Generation and Grants, Catherine Bosworth, said:

“Gifts in wills are the lifeline keeping our hospices open. Every single hour, someone receives care that wouldn’t exist without the generosity of people who choose to support hospice care in their will. That’s the reality we’re working with and it’s becoming increasingly fragile, as funding pressures threaten hospice services, right when demand is rising. Our ageing population means demand for hospice care will only continue to grow, so it’s vital that we do what we can to secure hospice care now. A gift in your will to a hospice doesn’t require parting with your money today, anyone can leave a legacy. Gifts of any size can make a significant difference – just £30 can fund a home care visit, £200 a specialist palliative care visit, it all helps hospices be there for people who need them.”

More information about Forget Me Not’s legacies and wills guidance, including its free will-writing service, is available at www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/gifts-in-wills