Cancer Research UK Free Will Service Passes 10 Million Pounds Mark

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 19 Feb 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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CANCER Research UK's Free Will Service has this year passed the £10 million fundraising mark. £10.6 million has been generated for the charity through legacies left in wills written since the Cancer Research UK scheme was set up in 2002.

The scheme received its highest income to date last year, with over £2.5 million generated and over £30 million pledged in more than 5,000 wills.

The Free Will Service, which operates throughout the UK through a network of over 1,000 solicitors, offers people over 55 the opportunity to make or update a basic will. The service is part of Cancer Research UK's Legacy campaign.

Legacies are hugely important to the charity sector, which receives around a third of its voluntary income, £1.5 billion in 2005, in this way.

Paul Farthing, director of legacies at Cancer Research UK, said: "We rely heavily on legacies to fund our life saving research. Last year over a third of it was paid for in this way.

"We would like to thank all of the solicitors who have worked with us as part of the Free Will Service for their invaluable contribution to Cancer Research UK. In future we expect the Free Will Service will make an even bigger contribution to our work."

For more information about the Free Will Service and Cancer Research UK visit Cancer Research UK's legacies website

About Cancer Research UK

- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.

- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.

- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.

- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.

- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.

Cancer Research UK