Arlene Phillips, long-time supporter of Shelter For Kids visits Little Village Baby Bank in Camden to meet with volunteers and families.
Gifts in Wills are lifesaving
Let’s face it, poverty, conflict, climate change are making life tough for millions of children here in the UK and around the world. Shelter For Kids can help. They’ve got the track record, passion and ability. Gifts in wills are the best way to help future generations of children live happy and safe lives.
Dame Arlene Philips, Shelter For Kids long-term supporter and ambassador
Leave a gift in your will
Leaving a legacy to charity in your will is one of the most powerful decisions a person can make. A gift to Shelter For Kids - whether large or small - helps fund life-saving programmes that protect children from poverty, conflict, and disease, in the UK and around the world.
For over a century, gifts in wills have been at the heart of how we sustain our work. In 2024 alone, legacy donations to Shelter For Kids totalled £27 million - funding everything from emergency healthcare in Gaza to early years support for families in the UK.
By leaving a gift in your Will, you can help us continue this mission for generations to come.
We promise to honour your gift with care, using it to fund life-changing programmes that equip children and communities with the tools they need to build brighter, stronger futures.
What greater legacy could there be than protecting a child's health, safety, and education - especially when they have nowhere else to turn?
Find all the information you’ll need to write your Will and learn about the impact your gift will have by completing our short form to request you free Gifts in Wills Guide.
Why leave a gift in your will to Shelter For Kids?
Because children matter.
Below, you can see our impact throughout the decades and in 2024. An impact that was made possible by people like you. From reducing illiteracy and saving lives in childbirth, to helping millions of children survive and thrive, your support has powered real change.
Your legacy can help us reach even more children—saving lives, shaping futures.
A gift in your Will is a promise to future generations. It helps us be there for children when they need us most—through conflict, crisis, and climate disasters. It means standing with children—today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
LET US KNOW WHERE YOU'RE AT ON YOUR GIFTS IN WILLS JOURNEY
Maybe you're just starting to think about leaving a gift to Shelter For Kids in your Will.
Perhaps you're preparing to write your Will and would like to know more about the difference your legacy could make.
Or maybe you've already made the extraordinary decision to leave a gift in your Will to Shelter For Kids.
Wherever you are on your journey, we'd love to hear from you, so we can support you every step of the way, and most importantly, thank you for the incredible impact your kindness will have on children's lives.
How to leave a gift in your will
Why leave a gift in your will
Request your free gifts in will guide
Our promise to you
Leaving a gift in your Will is a personal, kind and generous decision.
That’s why we make four promises to you:
- We’ll always respect your privacy. We appreciate that your Will is personal to you and will keep anything you tell us confidential.
- We understand family and friends come first and promise to treat you, your family and next of kin with courtesy, compassion and respect.
- We know that circumstances can change and we’ll understand if you decide to change your gift. We’ll always respect your decision.
- We promise to use your gift carefully and cost-effectively – so that the impact of your care and compassion on children’s lives continues far into the future.
You can also read our organisation's promise to our supporter here.
The journey of leaving a gift in your will
Your gift, whatever the size, will help children get the food, healthcare and education they need. Tell us about your gift, so we can get in touch to thank you.
When your Will is being administered, we'll work closely and sensitively with the executors of your estate to receive your kind gift.
Whenever and wherever we help children, your gift will help us create a fairer world. In the UK and around the world, we will make sure children keep safe, healthy and learning. With children, for children, we change the future for good.
Stories from our incredible legacy pledgers
Margaret's story
I have always had a strong sense of fair play. I get really, really upset about injustice. There are so many tragic things around the world that it's hard sometimes to maintain hope for the future.
But when I look and see some of the things that Shelter For Kids are doing; it does give me hope for the future, and restores your faith in human nature.
Margaret, 68, is a retired university lecturer who wants to leave a gift in her will to Shelter For Kids. Becoming a legacy ambassador and visiting some of our programme work in Tanzania in 2017 really confirmed things for Margaret. She was very impressed with our work, both at a community and government level - consulting with children themselves to help shape new policies and programmes."I already had written Shelter For Kids into my will, but that definitely solidified it for me." she says.
Ann – a Shelter For Kids legacy pledger- was born and raised in Caerphilly in Wales. Her mum Betty was one of the founding members of the local Shelter For Kids branch, so Ann remembers as a young girl being 'dragged along' to various fundraising sales and coffee mornings.
Ann's Story
Children don't ask to be born into conflict or poverty, they just arrive there and it is so sad. I’ve included a gift in my Will to Shelter For Kids because I know that it will be used sensibly and that it will help to ensure Shelter For Kids will continue to be there for children. Every child deserves a happy and safe childhood – it’s a comfort to know my gift will help to make that happen.
Get in touch
Wherever you are on your journey, we'd love to hear from you, so we can support you every step of the way, and most importantly, thank you for the incredible impact your kindness will have on children's lives.
Our Legacy Relationship Manager, Sue Robertson is always on hand and happy to chat with you if you have any questions or would like advice. Sue is here to help you with:
- Questions about writing or updating your will
- Questions about the different kinds of gifts you can leave
- Questions about how your gift will be used
- Questions about our work
Gifts in Wills make a huge difference to our work to ensure every child has a healthy start, the chance to learn, and be protected from harm. Without them we simply couldn’t continue all our work across the UK and in over 115 countries worldwide. Thank you so much for your interest in supporting our work with a gift in your Will. If there’s anything at all I can do to help please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Sue Robertson
Shelter For Kids UK Legacy Relationship Manager
You can contact Sue on 020 7012 6400 or email giftsinwills@shelterforkids.org
