"I've had a happy life in Cork, but I grew up when there was very little money around the place"

The only thing any of us can predict about life with 100% certainty is that it will end someday.

Yet even though we know this, we’re all a bit guilty of pushing that one guaranteed scenario to the back of our minds. Thinking about ‘the end’ can seem an incredibly scary task at first — while it may feel even harder still to picture what should come after the end! Making plans for our legacy and what we leave behind can be a huge thing to contend with — but with Cork Simon, it needn’t be an insurmountable decision.

Through their latest campaign, the charity is empowering local people to take control of their own legacy. By leaving a gift to Cork Simon in their Will, donors have the opportunity to leave behind a lasting impact not only on Cork city, but also on the most vulnerable citizens within its community.

Cork Simon does invaluable work to help men and women across Cork and Kerry who are at risk of, or are experiencing, homelessness. Last year alone saw 1,370 people turning to the charity for help — a 33% increase from 2021. After noticing this rising demand for their services, donor Neil O’Connor felt compelled to support Cork Simon in helping as many people as possible, and so he decided to leave the charity a gift in his Will.

“I’ve lived in Cork all my life and have been blessed with my wonderful family and children, to have always had a roof over our heads and food on the table,” Neil shares. “It breaks my heart to see people on the streets who don’t have those things. I was born in 1945, so I grew up in Ballinlough during the late 40s and early 50s when there was very little money around in Cork. We had a happy childhood and never wanted for anything, but I’ve always been sensitive to the fact that there were many people around us who were less fortunate.” 

Throughout the decades he’s spent in Cork, Neil has seen that disparity become more and more prevalent. While Cork has become a much more modern and, in many ways, better city today, the numbers of people struggling and sleeping on streets here continues to rise. Seeing Cork Simon rising to the challenge and growing their efforts alongside the homelessness crisis has been a source of great hope for Neil. 

“Cork Simon are definitely making a difference. I believe very much in what they do and how they go about it, because they ensure people still have their dignity. Cork Simon helps people in a way that doesn’t strip their independence away, but gets them off the street and into a home of their own, back on their own two feet. I think their approach is very Christian, which resonates strongly with me. After all, I believe the charity’s name comes from the man who helped Jesus carry his cross when he had trouble carrying it himself.

“As a Christian myself I believe it’s our duty to help those who don’t have what we have, but the other reason I wanted to leave a gift in my Will was to show an appreciation for the people in Cork Simon who are doing a wonderful job and are incredibly selfless. All of the staff I’ve met and spoken to from the charity have been very positive, encouraging and supportive. I’m very happy to be engaged with them and to support their work, they are incredibly good people.” 

This ease in dealing with the Cork Simon staff was especially important to Neil whilst he was sorting out the logistics of leaving a gift in his Will — a process the charity made as easy as possible. “My wife Annette and I found the whole thing very straightforward. Over the past couple of years, we’ve always read the various appeals we’d get from Cork Simon, so once we decided to get involved it was very easy to arrange the donation through our solicitor. I responded to this appeal in particular because it gives us an opportunity to continue the help we’re giving Cork Simon now, even after we’re gone.

“Both Annette and myself are very happy we’ve made that change to the Will and that we made the decision together. It’s peace of mind in a way. I’m 78 years of age now and thanks be to God I have reasonably good health at the moment, but it is important to have a plan in place! So long as I’m alive I’m happy to continue supporting Cork Simon, but when I’m gone hopefully what we’ve left in the Will can help them as well.” 

Neil’s gift certainly will make a difference to the charity. As Leona Walsh, Cork Simon’s Legacy Manager points out, each and every donation can go a long way in these tough times. “The cost-of-living-crisis has been very difficult for us,” she shares. “There’s more pressure on our services than there has ever been before — the numbers of rough sleepers are increasing all the time, as well as the number of people presenting to us who need other supports. Obviously, same as everyone else, we’ve also struggled with our gas and electricity bills increasing all the time. While it’s been difficult, we’re so lucky to have such incredible support here in Cork, and donors who dig deep and support us as much as they can. Whether that’s a very small amount or a large amount, it varies, but it all means a lot to us and helps us in a big way. Our donors’ support is what gets us through.

“We understand that people are really squeezed for money at the moment and it’s a difficult time for people to give us cash gifts, so our Legacy campaign is a way that our supporters can still help us without paying anything for the time being. It’s a really powerful way for people to pledge their support to Cork Simon by leaving a gift in their Will, but it won’t affect them in their day to day.

“It's also very easy to set up, I’ve done it myself. If it’s your first time making a Will, then it’s just a question of asking your solicitor to add a clause in there that you want to leave something to Cork Simon. What we’re finding is more and more donors are actually opting to leave us a set percentage of what’s left over in their estate. For example, they might say once everything else and their loved ones have been looked after, they’ll leave 5% of whatever’s left to Cork Simon. That’s a really straightforward option, but we'll take gifts of any size — big or small! They're all hugely welcome and appreciated.” 

With very little work from your end to make arrangements with a solicitor, you will be helping Cork Simon to continue their own vital work, providing food and shelter for those in need. Leaving a donation in your Will can be much more than just a gift to Cork Simon, however. In many ways, Leona explains, it can also be a gift to Cork city itself.

“I’ve spoken to many donors recently who have left us gifts in their Wills and one very powerful message that came across is how good Cork city has been to them, what a great place it is to live in. Even if they’re not originally from Cork, there are donors who have a real affinity with the place and feel very fortunate that they’ve had a good life here. A gift left in their Will is, of course, a way they can support people who are homeless and in desperate need of help, but they’re also helping the city of Cork. A homelessness problem is a very serious thing for any city to have, and in a small city like Cork it’s especially marked. You can see the people huddled under doorways at night if you were to walk around town, there’s so many people sleeping rough. So if people have an affinity with Cork and a love for their home county, they don’t want to see that happening and they don’t want to see people in dire straits like they are at the moment. Leaving behind a donation helps people who are in need but it’s also going to help Cork city on a wider scale, which I know from talking to our donors means so much to them.” 

To find out how you make a difference, and learn more about leaving a gift for Cork Simon in your own Will, contact Leona Walsh in confidence at 021 4929 418 / leona@corksimon.ie or visit www.corksimon.ie/gifts-in-wills