Leave a gift in your will
Did you know that nearly half of people have thought about leaving money to charity in their Wills but only around 7% of people currently leave a gift?
Can you help secure the future of deaf children and young people?
We understand that many people are unable give to Mary Hare during their lifetime. A gift in your will allows you to make a charitable contribution at no cost to you today. A gift in your will is tax efficient - gifts are deducted from your estate before inheritance tax is calculated and can reduce the liability to your beneficiaries.
The generosity of families, former students, teachers helps make Mary Hare a truly wonderful place for the deaf children and young people who attend the school. Many gifts have come in the form of legacies to the school, which have allowed us to improve the school site, build new facilities support deaf childrens’ education.
Over thirty years ago my husband had a personal assistant whose deaf daughter struggled in mainstream education, her mother was dedicated and fought hard for the local authority to sponsor her daughter a place at Mary Hare. Sadly, the Local Authority refused, when we found out we were distraught at the treatment of her family. I offered as a family friend to sponsor their daughter until funding could be secured. Eventually, she won against the LA and I stopped sponsoring her but by then we were invested in the work of Mary Hare as a charity. In the following twenty-plus years have continued to support deaf children in their education and planned to leave a legacy in my will. With the state of education, today specialist institutions such as Mary Hare have never been more vital to give deaf children the future they deserve.
When making a Will, once you’ve taken care of family members and loved ones, you may wish to make a gift in your will. This can be a core part of leaving a legacy with a cause close to your heart and pass on something wonderful to future generations.
Leaving a gift in your Will to charity is easier than you might think – in just three steps:
Steps to leaving a legacy
Step 1
Get the charity details Make a note of the charity name, address and registered charity number. You can search this on the Charity Commission website. It’s very important to make sure the charity number is correct to avoid any confusion, as lots of charities have similar names. If you're including more than one charity, include details for each one.
For Example:
Name: Mary Hare Foundation
Address: Arlington Manor, Snelsmore Common, Newbury, RG14 3BQ
Charity number: 1002680
Step 2
Read about what to include in a will. Take a look at the official Remember A Charity guide on making a will for advice on what you need to consider when writing your will. Remember a charity guide
Step 3
Contact a solicitor or Will writer Find a solicitor or professional Will writer to write or update your Will if you don’t have one already, a friend or family member might have a recommendation. If not there will be qualified advisors in your local area on the law society database: Find a Solicitor - The Law Society. Then provide your solicitor or Will writer with details of your chosen charity while making your Will.
Mary Hare’s legacy lives on today.
Mary Hare was an exceptional woman who had the foresight in the late 1800s that deaf children required specialist help to enable them to access education. She believed that deaf children were capable of achieving every bit as much as their hearing peers, if the obstacles presented by their deafness were removed. The primary obstacle for deaf children is language. Mary Hare wanted deaf children to learn through reading, writing and listening to English. This remains the single most important aspect of Mary Hare School’s approach to educating deaf children. When Miss Mary Hare passed in 1945 she held the strong belief that a school should continue in her memory.
