WHEN Laurie Teague, a former sports reporter with the Hereford Times, died in 2019 he left a substantial bequest to each of three Herefordshire charities.

In January 2020, the Royal National College for the Blind, The Courtyard Centre for the Arts and St Michael's Hospice were surprised and delighted to learn that Mr Teague (Lawrence) had remembered each of them in his will.

As Remember A Charity launches its Willanthropy campaign, Mr Teague's generosity serves to highlight all those who are making a difference to the charities they're passionate about.

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Mr Teague was a gregarious and sociable man who loved being with other people and finding out as much as he could about them. His long-time friend and former colleague, Richard Prime, explained that Mr Teague lived just behind the main RNC campus all his life and would regularly see the students going about their daily activities.

He also knew RNC’s former head of sport and recreation, Tony Larkin, and attended sports council awards evenings at the college," explained Mr Prine.

At The Courtyard, chief executive Ian Archer recalls learning of the bequest: "We were absolutely delighted because it came out of the blue," he said. "We knew nothing about it until we received a letter from his solicitor."

Mr Teague had left The Courtyard approximately £40,000 which provided a considerable boost to the Transform the Yard campaign.

"He was a huge supporter of the Courtyard and did a lot of volunteering and stewarding in his retirement. Everyone knew him and loved him, so to get that legacy was absolutely delightful, and showed how much the Courtyard had meant to him," Mr Archer said.

Remember a Charity is urging people making a will to remember that, like Mr Teague, you don't have to be super-wealthy to make a difference to the charities you support. At the same time, they are also calling on dictionary compilers to add 'willanthropy' to the language as a reminder of the value of a bequest to charity.