A living legacy for Dorothy House

While many people choose to leave legacies to charities in their wills that will benefit the organisation after their death, in 2023 Dorothy House received the incredible gift of a house in Bradford on Avon from Mrs. Valerie Dyer; a living legacy.

Watch Val’s Interview

Mrs. Dyer’s living legacy

We spoke to Valerie about her amazing gift and asked why she chose to leave a legacy to the Hospice:

‘Dorothy House looked after my husband in his last few days. The atmosphere at there was so special.  How do you describe an atmosphere? Dorothy House is a source of assistance generally, for all the family involved.

Getting older made me realise that I had enough money to support myself and anything left over could support someone else. I do not have any family dependent on me, you see, so I might as well be giving it to somebody else. I chose Dorothy House. The first time I rang Dorothy House and told them that I wanted to give them my house it struck them dumb. I had to say it three times to three different people. I realised I had enough without relying on the house and I wanted to do this whilst I was still alive.’

Dorothy House retail teams lend a hand

As part of our commitment to support Mrs Dyer with her legacy and move to her care home, Dorothy House’s retail teams helped Mrs Dyer to donate some of her larger pieces of furniture to our preloved furniture stores.

If you are in a similar situation or have some good quality, undamaged furniture that you would like someone to breath new life into, please get in touch with our retail teams by filling in this form. 

How a living legacy can support Dorothy House

Valerie’s selfless gift to Dorothy House is a true testament to our unwavering commitment to our community and to our goal of providing end of life care to anyone in need. Her legacy will make a profound difference to our patients and their families by helping to fund our services.

Should you wish to enquire about leaving a legacy to Dorothy House, no matter how large or small (every gift really does count), please contact Sarah, Head of Legacies, on 01225 721 480 or email Sarah.Dodd@dorothyhouse-hospice.org.uk. You would be welcome to come and visit at our Winsley site for a chat and a cup of coffee.