Leave a gift in your will

Why your gift matters

The Kirkwood provide all our care free of charge for patients and families across Kirklees. But, unlike the NHS, it is not fully state funded. We receive around 25% of our £11 million running costs from the NHS, with the majority of our funding comes from the generosity of the local community. With rising costs and a growing demand for hospice services, gifts left in Wills play a vital role in ensuring hospices like ours can continue to provide the best care for those in need. These generous contributions help support thousands of people and their families - now and for generations to come.

Your gift could be a friendly voice at the other end of the phone after a family hears bad news about a diagnosis for the very first time. It could build a patient’s confidence and help them to maintain their independence – so they can continue to do the things that make them smile. It could create special memories that are cherished forever. Or your gift could help a family to pick up the pieces and learn to smile again.

Whatever you choose to give, your gift will be the reason that those in our care are able to make the very most of the time they have left, whatever else is happening in the world.

Together, we can make sure that hospice care lives on for all, for now, forever.

Our promise to you

We are determined to help local people improve their quality of life in the ways that are important to them, and believe in the difference that gifts in wills can make – so we’ll never shy away from asking people to consider leaving a gift to The Kirkwood. But we’ll always do it in the right way and follow the following principles:

1. We understand and respect that when making your will, friends and family always come first.
2. We will never forget that choosing whether to leave a gift in your will is your decision (and we’ll never put pressure on you). 
3. When you leave a gift to The Kirkwood, we’ll make sure it’s used carefully, responsibly and in the best interests of all who rely on our care, focussing on areas it will have the greatest impact.
4. We know things change sometimes – so if you need to alter your will in the future we’ll completely understand. And you don’t need to tell us if  you do.
5. If it’s important to you, we’ll give you and your family as much choice as we can about how your gift is used.
6. If you choose to leave us a gift in your will, we’d love to hear from you so we can say thank you. But you don’t need to tell us.  Your privacy is really important and we appreciate that your will is personal to you.
7. We’d like to keep in touch to show you the difference we are making for local families, but we’ll give you the option to choose how and when you’d like to hear from us.
8. We’ll never share your personal information with anyone else. Ever.

We can help you write or update your will for FREE this March

Making or updating your Will isn’t an easy thing to think about. It can be a daunting prospect. Some people don’t know where to start. Some think it’s expensive, and others don’t think Wills are important. We want to change that. 

Throughout March, we’re partnering with local professional Will Writers to help you create or update your Will for FREE. It’s easy to arrange an appointment and your chosen professional Will Writer will guide you through the process at your appointment.

You don’t have to include a gift to The Kirkwood in your Will when taking part in our Make A Will Month, but we hope you’ll consider supporting our vital work. 

Request your free Gift in Wills Guide

We’ve created a Gift in Wills Guide to help you if you're thinking about either a new Will, or updating one you already have.

View our Wills Guide online here or request your free postal copy by clicking the button below. Simply fill in a few details and our team will get a printed copy out to you in the post.

This is Hospice Care

For a second year, we're proud to stand with over 125 hospices across England, Scotland, and Wales, for the "This is Hospice Care" campaign, brought together by Hospice UK. The campaign has already captured hearts and minds through a powerful TV advert based on real life hospice stories.

Hospice care is more than you think, and it's closer than you know. Somewhere in your life, in your family, your friendships, your community - hospice care is already making a difference in ways you might not expect.

But just as the ways we help people grow every year, the need also grows.

We’re able to support one in five people we care for because someone - a stranger, a neighbour, someone who never even used our services - decided hospice care mattered enough to protect.

Someone you'll never meet made sure we could be here for your community.

Now we're asking you to be that someone for the next generation. When you leave a Gift in your Will to us, you ensure that when someone in Kirklees googles symptoms at 3am, when a family needs those crucial words, when life feels impossible - we're here.

Together, we can make sure that hospice care lives on for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

If you have any questions about leaving a gift to The Kirkwood in your will, please get in touch. We're here to help.

For any enquiries, please call Dawn Walker on: 01484 557 911 or email: giftsinwills@thekirkwood.org.uk

Any information you decide to share with us will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift to The Kirkwood. Your gift will help make sure we can be there for people in Kirklees living with life limiting illnesses when they need us most. Ten, twenty, thirty years from now. As we have been since 1987.