Leaving an extraordinary legacy: Ken's supporter story

“The first time I heard about Demelza was on an old programme with Fred Dinenage on the BBC, and I learned how that’s how Demelza came about – that they set it up for their daughter. So, I like to think that the gift I’m making is my daughter’s contribution – I’m just making it on her behalf. 

“Susan was the chief cashier at a solicitors – she had brains! But we didn’t know how good she was. It wasn’t until she died and she left a fortune to us – we never knew. It might sound strange, but in my head, by giving it to Demelza, her money is doing some good, and I feel sure she would approve. That’s all that matters.

“I’ve donated to Demelza for years and I do it for the kids. I’ve been in business, so I know you need to earn money every week, or you go bust. Demelza’s overheads must be colossal, so that money has to keep coming in every week. Each year I donate in April for Susan and my late wife Flossie’s birthdays, because they are about four days apart. In July, when I get interest from my building society I make a donation, on my birthday in November I donate a pound for every year I’ve had, and then I make another donation to buy the kids some toys.

“It was important to me to write a will to guarantee that Demelza got the money. I had an ordinary will – everything was just set to go to my son. But he has plenty! If you’ve got money, you’ve got to do something good with it. On the telly, every other advert is a charity asking for people to leave something in their will, and I could give a little bit to lots of people, but it ends up insignificant. So I wanted to leave something to Demelza that they can really do something with. I know collectively it all adds up, but no – all my money goes to Demelza.

“It's a simple process – providing you’ve got a decent solicitor, you tell them what you want, and they do it! They write it all in the legal jargon, so nobody can twist it or anything. The solicitor that Susan worked for did my original will, so when I decided to donate to Demelza, I called him and told him what I wanted to do. And he knew what to write to make sure Demelza gets the full amount – there’s no deductions or anything. Then, because I can’t get out the house too easily, he came over with his dad to witness it. Once that was signed, that’s legal, done! For lots of people they don’t get round to it, and when they do it’s too late. But if you get it written down, no one can change it.

“Obviously if through talking about this, it means somebody else donates, then that’s great. Because if Demelza don’t get those donations, they can’t continue. For many, many years I would have liked to have given more, but I didn’t have money, so I couldn’t. Now (being big-headed!) I’m wealthy, so I do these things because I can and I have great pleasure in it.”