Judith has decided to leave a gift in her Will to Cord. This continues a journey which began with a simple newspaper article. It has blossomed into a lifelong commitment to making the world a better, more peaceful place.
Over 50 years ago Judith read a newspaper article that would change her life. It was all about Rev. Pat Ashe and a group of Christians in Leamington Spa (pictured below). They were reaching out to children who had been orphaned by the conflict and finding families to adopt them.
“We had been thinking about adoption and when we read the article, we decided that this was what we wanted to do. I remember being affected by a photo that was quite well-known at the time. It showed a young girl fleeing from the bombs that were being dropped by the Americans, running naked down a lane. She was burned and held her hands up in despair.”
Judith and her husband eventually adopted a baby boy. They named him John Patrick, after Judith’s husband, and Rev. Pat Ashe.
Cord’s work has changed in so many ways over the decades, but a commitment to helping victims of conflict and violence has remained.
“It’s over 50 years since that time and I’ve been donating to Cord and taking interest in their work ever since. The projects are excellent and supporting them has become part of my life. We have so much in this country, even though we moan and groan sometimes and I think it’s so important that we help people in much more challenging situations.
My husband died 12 years ago. We asked people not to buy flowers for his funeral but to donate to Cord instead.
I’ve now decided to leave a gift in my Will because Cord is part of me. I’ll obviously look after my children and 10 grandchildren, but I also want to do something to help the charities that I’m passionate about.”
We are so grateful to Judith and supporters like her who have taken this very special decision. It means that Judith’s generosity and love will continue to change the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, long into the future.
If you would like to find out more about legacy giving click here.
