Red Cross supporters around the world join together to ensure that help will always be there for people in a crisis.

Dear Mr Ferguson,

One week may not seem much time to save people who are suffering a crisis. But this is no ordinary week. Red Cross societies on all five continents have worked together to organise the unique event that is A Week to Change the World. This event aims to make a lasting difference in the lives of more people than ever before. And you can play a key part.

The idea is simple. Thousands of Red Cross supporters in this country - and in other countries around the world - are being asked to consider a far-reaching pledge. One that will enable them to make their mark in the world - permanently.

We’re not asking anyone to contribute any money now. Yet Red Cross supporters around the world will be setting in motion vital plans to bring urgently needed help to people in future crises. And they will achieve this simply by pledging to remember the Red Cross in their Wills.

In this week of change, would you please join them by thinking about remembering the British Red Cross in your Will? I realise this is a delicate and highly personal subject, but I hope you will forgive me for writing to you about it today. Like my Red Cross colleagues around the world, I am only too aware how critical this form of support is to all our dedicated volunteers.

For every three people we help in a crisis, one is helped solely because of legacies from Red Cross supporters such as yourself. Without their commitment and their generosity, we would be unable to give that help, however desperately it was needed.

As you may know, the British Red Cross is one of the largest contributors to relief operations abroad. One of the most important things we do is provide people with safe drinking water and sanitation. One billion people in the world today have no reliable supply of water that is safe to drink, and nearly half of all human beings live without basic sanitation. As a result, water-related diseases kill 3,400,000 people every year. In this terrible situation, we have to do everything possible, and even a small legacy can easily save lives.

For example, in Ethiopia, we are helping the local Red Cross put into effect a simple programme of clean water and sanitation. More than five hundred latrines have already been built, and drinking water schemes are being installed. In Babu in Western Ethiopia we recently helped to provide a rural community with clean water. By building separate areas for water to be collected, clothes washed and cattle watered, we were able to reduce the incidence of fatal diseases like black dysentery.

This is the kind of immediate and dramatic improvement you can make, when you make it possible for us to commit to a planned programme of work.

In the UK, crises are often smaller in scale and more personal, but they happen all too often. More than half our funds are used to provide services here in this country, and a legacy often makes all the difference.

Again, I can explain best by giving you an example. We all know that many people of all ages depend on a wheelchair for basic mobility, while they recover from injury or illness. Yet many people are unable to get one, because they can’t go out to collect it. In this situation, those who live alone are particularly vulnerable.

Dial A Wheel is a service set up entirely thanks to one large legacy. It breaks the vicious circle by taking the wheelchair to the person who needs it. As a result, thousands of people have now been freed from the confines of their homes.

If, as a result of this Week, enough Red Cross supporters - in this country and around the world - go on to eventually leave a legacy to their own national Red Cross society, we’ll be able to save thousands more people from crisis situations in the future. And we’ll be able to start planning at once, as soon as we hear from you.

By acting now, at this special time, you can do even more good. Please think about it, and let us know what you decide. You can do this simply by returning the Week to Change the World reply form I have enclosed for you. This does not commit you to anything, but it will help the British Red Cross make plans in advance for projects that call for our lasting involvement, like the Ethiopian water hygiene programme and the Dial A Wheel scheme.

You will no doubt wish family and close friends to come first when considering your Will. I fully understand this, but please - would you also consider leaving a gift to the British Red Cross?

If you would like more information on how to leave a legacy to the British Red Cross, I’ll be happy to put a copy of our informative booklet in the post to you - just tick the box-on-the form enclosed.

In A Week to Change the World, you have the chance to really make your mark, by using your Will to make the world a better place for people who are suffering most. I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully to welcoming you as one of the supporters who indicate their future support in A Week to Change the World.

Naturally, you can be sure that any legacy you pledge now to the British Red Cross will be used to help those in greatest need, regardless of their beliefs or nationality.

I can also assure you that your reply will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Yours sincerely,
Sarah Willis
on behalf of the British Red Cross

P.S. Please may I ask you to return the form, whatever you decide - even if you are unable to help in this way? Knowing your intentions does make such a valuable difference to how we plan new projects. Thank you.