Leave a Legacy

Leaving a legacy is a simple, wonderfully fulfilling experience and anyone can do it.  It does not matter how big or small the gift is – all contributions will make a lasting difference.

Set up as Cherish in 1972, with Mary Robinson as our first President, we celebrated our 40^th anniversary in 2012. We ask you to acknowledge our work with thousands of Ireland’s most deprived parents and children over those four decades by enabling us to plan for the future.

Please consider leaving a legacy for One Family. We understand that your family and friends will come first, but a small percentage could really help our work towards equality for all families in Ireland. There are over 215,000 one-parent families in Ireland today – 25.8% of all families with children (Census 2011).  Those living in lone parent households continue to experience the highest rates of deprivation with almost 69% of individuals from these households experiencing one or more forms of deprivation (EU-SILC 2010).

A Message from our Founder, Maura O’Dea Richards

“With a small group of women I founded One Family in 1972 because I was a single unmarried mother who decided I wanted to keep and raise my child myself. Over the decades I know that we have helped many thousands of families get on their feet, raise their children well and that we have helped make Ireland a fairer place in which to live.

I still believe in and support the work of One Family. I know that they continue to develop new services to meet the needs of one-parent families today, such as Child Contact Centres and back-to-work programmes. That is why I have decided to leave a legacy in my will to help continue the really important work of One Family and I would like to invite you to do the same. I can honestly say that my darling daughter would not be the great person she is today without the love and support of One Family and all the people involved. Help make this support a reality for other families in crisis and need.” – Maura

Legacy Donations in Ireland

According to recent Irish research, only one in three Irish adults make a will. Only 12% of Irish people indicate that they have included a charity as a beneficiary in their will, despite the fact that 62% of Irish people say they would consider leaving a gift to charity in their will. Legacy donations are an extremely valuable source of unrestricted income to charities but Irish charities only raise approximately 6% of their income from legacies. It is up to 40% in the UK.

Best Will in the World Week

One Family is proud to be a member of My Legacy, where 60 Irish charities are working together to raise public awareness of the importance of leaving charitable bequests in your will. We welcome your support any time of the year but also invite you to take part in Best Will in the World Week every October when we encourage members of the general public to visit a local participating solicitor to have a will drawn up or changed and to consider leaving a legacy to their favourite charity. You can get professional, impartial advice on your will for just €50, while also helping a favourite charity after you are gone. For more information and to see a list of participating solicitors, visit www.mylegacy.ie.

One Family Form of Bequest

This suggested wording for a bequest to One Family may be helpful:

“I give a sum of_______, all (or a __% share of) the residue of my estate to One Family, Cherish House, 2 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2 (Charity Number CHY 6525 , Company Number 45364), for its general charitable purposes and I direct that the receipt of the Treasurer or duly authorised officer shall be a valid and appropriate form of discharge.”

If you are considering including One Family in your will, please call 01 662 9212 or fill in the form below.
You can also make a donation over the phone by credit or debit card, or donate online.

Thank you for considering leaving a legacy to One Family.