Fiona’s Story

My name is Fiona, and I grew up in the Northeast of England and moved to Australia in 2006.  I’m a single mum of a 12-year-old boy and we have a 7-year-old labrador who we love to bits! I have been working in the non-profit sector since I moved to Australia. 

Some years ago, at a conference I was attending, I saw a session about the Wayside Donate a Plate campaign. I thought it was great and what I was really intrigued by was the Inner Circle newsletter which I signed up for that day and have looked forward to receiving ever since!  

I love Wayside’s non-judgemental, pragmatic and loving approach. I’m an atheist, so if you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be making monthly gifts and leaving a gift in my Will to a faith-based charity, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.  I think Wayside represents the essence of Christianity – an acceptance of humanity in all its forms and the acknowledgement that we all want and need love and care, without the expectation of conversion.  

My decision to start donating financially was driven by the Inner Circle – the stories it conveys are so compassionate, compelling and often funny! It made me feel connected to Wayside and I wanted to support their work.  

Creating a Will had been on my to-do list ever since I became a parent, and it really was the monkey on my back – I procrastinated for years. I was SO relieved when I finally got it done! 

Because I have a lot of experience in the sector, I know how powerful gifts in Wills are for nonprofits. So, I knew that when I eventually sat down to write a Will, I wanted to include charitable gifts.  

I have left a gift in my Will to an environmental charity because I’m so worried about the climate crisis and to Wayside because I believe in their work and that Wayside represents the good in humanity, which we really need right now!  

What I would say to anyone thinking about leaving a gift in Will to Wayside would be, do it! It is something that will have minimal impact on your finances while you are alive, can fit in with what you want to leave to your loved ones without minimising what you want to give them, and is a way to leave something special in this world as you leave it – hopefully making the world a little kinder for those who come after us.  

It was so easy to leave my gift to Wayside. I created my Will through a solicitor as I wanted to ensure I had set it up properly for my son, and the charitable gifts were one of the easiest and quickest aspects of the Will to finalise.  

And of course, online Wills are now a brilliant option for people who have uncomplicated Will requirements, and you can easily leave a gift to charity when using an online Will platform.  

I want my son to know I cared about our planet and its people. And I’d like to think that after I’m gone, a little piece of me will help someone, somewhere.  

If I can help continue Wayside’s brilliant work in some small way, then that makes me very happy.