Remember A Charity Week, which this year runs from 10 - 16 September, is in its ninth year, bringing together charities, government and stakeholders to highlight the importance of legacy giving. The campaign highlights the impact of legacy donations and calls on the public to pass on something wonderful in their will.

An estimated 40,000 people write a will every week and current figures show that 35% of people say they would be happy to leave a gift in their will, but only 6% actually go on to do so.

Gifts in Wills are worth over £2.5bn to the charitable sector, so if the number of gifts left in Wills increased by just 4%, another £1bn would be raised for good causes in the UK.

Whilst the campaign is to raise awareness during one week in September, the wildlife charity is keen to stress that gifts left in wills, no matter how small, really make a long lasting difference to its work and in the past legacies of all sizes have helped it protect habitats, as well as iconic species such as red squirrels, otters and hedgehogs.

Around the region, four firms of solicitors: Brumell & Sample (Morpeth), Hadaway & Hadaway (North Shields), Tait Farrier Graham (Gateshead) and Adam Douglas Legal (Alnwick) continue to offer Northumberland Wildlife Trust supporters discounts on professional will writing regardless of whether they include a legacy to the Trust. Details can be found at www.nwt.org.uk/legacies.