Terry Waite's plea for more 'Legacies of Hope'

7 February 2011

Letter from Terry Waite

"Could you consider remembering Y Care International with a gift in your Will?"

Terry Waite, CBE, Y Care International's founder

One of my tenets has always been, ‘if you maintain hope in a situation of extremity, there’s every chance that you can survive’.

This was certainly true for me, during my time in captivity. And it underpins the work that many of you have made possible through your support of Y Care International.

Your generosity and commitment give hope to vulnerable children and young people around the world.

Hope that they can escape the extreme poverty that surrounds them. Hope that they can make a successful journey from childhood to adulthood, developing in mind, body and spirit. Hope that they can transform their own lives – and the lives of their communities.

You can change young lives
I’m thinking of the young men I met on my return to the Middle East, who had been disabled or injured in the ongoing conflict. You’re helping them to take control of their future and support themselves and families. At our centre in Jericho, they receive the training they need to find a trade, and make a living.

Mobile schools motivate young people through dance and music.

I also have in mind the young people at risk of being drawn into gangs, drugs and violence on the streets of Bogota, Colombia. You’re enabling us to offer them shelter and protection. Our YMCA project workers visit dangerous slums, where even the police fear to go, to gain the trust of vulnerable young people through music and dance. Once they have built a relationship with us, they come to our centres, where they can learn skills that will allow them to earn an income and find a way out of hardship.

Indeed, with your support, our projects are helping children and young people to fulfil their potential in more than 20 countries. In all of these places, the odds are stacked against them – and the challenges of poverty, violence and conflict are extreme.

To help young people by leaving a gift in your Will please contact Zoe Wilson Young on 020 7549 3176 or email .

YMCAs are best placed to bring about change

Y Care International’s work may have expanded over the past 26 years, but its principles have remained the same since 1984. I co-founded the organisation on the premise that the YMCA, the oldest and largest voluntary youth network in the world, was uniquely placed to fight disadvantage and bring about change.

This approach is innovative and effective. Local YMCA staff have the trust and confidence of communities, as well as a knowledge and understanding of their circumstances.

This helps us to identify pressing needs, and offer appropriate solutions. It also means that your money goes further – instead of employing expatriate staff or setting up overseas offices, we use the existing infrastructure of local YMCAs.

You Will can help us to commit to long-term, life changing work
But our size and specialism do have other consequences. We are dependent on the kindness of you and our other supporters to make our work possible. And when it comes to ensuring that our vital work can continue in the future, we rely on those who support us in a very special way – remembering us with a gift in their Will.

These gifts help us to plan for the years ahead, by safeguarding our long-term financial security and enabling us to commit to our long-term projects. Above all, they have a lasting impact on vulnerable children and young people all over the world – helping to provide them with the hope of a better life.

Yet even though gifts in Wills play an incredibly important role in our work, they currently account for a relatively small percentage of our income. Last year, for example, we received just 8% of our overall income in this way. For many larger and more well-known charities, the figure can be closer to 70%.

Given this significant and concerning disparity, I hope you will understand why I am broaching the sensitive issue of Wills – and why I would like you to ask yourself this question:

‘Could you consider remembering Y Care International with a gift in your Will?’

As a father and grandfather myself, I am aware that your family will be your first consideration. But I am also hopeful that you will be able to remember a cause that is so important to young people – the future changemakers of our world.

All children and young people are capable of lifting themselves and their communities out of poverty – if their immediate needs are met, and if they are given the right help.

My confidence in Y Care International’s work
I have been fortunate enough to see the results of this work for myself, in several countries. Nowhere were they more apparent than in Sri Lanka, a place that I visited two years ago.

Ravaged by a ferocious civil war that lasted over 25 years, and by the tsunami that hit in 2005, conflict and natural disaster caused thousands of deaths and much devastation. Many children and young people were separated from their families, forced to abandon their homes and their education, and experienced unspeakable trauma.

Thanks to the generous response to our Emergency Appeal, we were able to work alongside villagers to rebuild houses away from the coastline, safe from the threat of tsunamis. We could also support several YMCA centres, where young people can receive counselling and learn vocational skills.

House built after the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

The dedication and the achievements of our staff in Sri Lanka I found so inspiring – they are hugely trusted by the community. But I was particularly moved by the families who welcomed me into their newly built homes .

One family I met had been displaced by the conflict and the tsunami and one of their sons had disappeared in the confusion following the ceasefire so there was great sadness about whether they would see him again. But there was gratitude, too – without our help, the family would still have been living in a makeshift shelter.

And there was also hope. Young people in Sri Lanka had finally been given the opportunity of an education, which had been denied to them for so long. They were learning to resolve their difficulties. They were picking up skills that would enable them to work their way out of poverty. In short, they were being equipped to become the leaders of the future – leaders of healthy, peaceful and prosperous communities.

This is the impact that you could have, if you were to leave a gift in your Will to Y Care International.

Please give the legacy of hope
Naturally, when making a Will, your thoughts turn to future generations, perhaps those of your own family – what their lives will be like; what challenges they will face; what their hopes will be.

By remembering us in your Will, you could help to ensure that future generations of vulnerable children and young people can overcome the obstacles in their path, and achieve their aspirations and dreams.

Will options
If you do decide to support us in this special way, there are several options open to you:

• You can leave us a particular item, such as a piece of property or an item of jewellery.
• You can choose to give us a specific amount – a pecuniary legacy. It is important to note, though, that the sum’s value could diminish over time unless it is index-linked.
• Or remember us with a residuary legacy which enables you to both protect your gift against inflation and take care of your loved ones – the residue of your estate is what remains after you have provided for your family.

We also want to make the process of making or changing a Will as simple as possible.

So if you would like to speak to someone about legacies, please email Zoe Wilson Young at or call her on 020 7549 3176 for a free information booklet.

Let me end my letter by referring to its start. In times of extreme difficulty, it is so important to have hope – for an end to the hardship, for the start of a better life.

If you were to remember Y Care International in your Will, you would leave the most incredible legacy to future generations of vulnerable children and young people and their communities – the legacy of hope.

With my best wishes,

Terry Waite, CBE
President

p.s. The basic information you need to leave us gift to us in your will is our name, address and charity number, these are as follows:

Y Care International (Charity number 1109789)
Kemp House
152-160 City Road
London EC1V 2NP