For Toni Pollard, retiring from a 50-year career in teaching didn’t mean slowing down.
The loyal Oxfam supporter and former volunteer maintains a dizzying schedule, translating literature from Indonesian to English, and attending book clubs, literary lectures and writers’ festivals.
Toni’s passion for life is equalled by her passion for social justice, instilled in her by her father at an early age. As a young adult, Toni travelled through Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Your bequest can help a village access clean water
When Toni inherited some money in 2008, the decision to leave a gift to Oxfam in her Will came easily. When you include a bequest in your Will to Oxfam, you can achieve extraordinary things for people living in poverty.
I am not so naïve as to think that my gift will drastically change many lives. I just know that Oxfam’s projects and its policy of minimising overhead costs means that most of it will be put to good use somewhere. A few more children able to go to school, a drinking well built in a village which will keep children healthy and women free from the arduous task of carting water long distances, a micro-finance business set up somewhere providing livelihoods to a few families.
If you want to make a difference like Toni, please consider including a bequest in your Will to Oxfam.
Celebrating over 40 years as an Oxfam supporter
From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, Toni ran the CAA group of the eastern suburbs in Sydney, while also volunteering in the early 1980s in the Sydney office.
She was also very active through monthly donations, regular street stalls and attending events. Toni believes compassionate leadership is the key to tackling poverty.
“Leadership in the form evinced by (New Zealand Prime Minister) Jacinda Ardern is what I would like to see in every part of the world. With such leadership based on compassion and respect for the entire community in all its diversity and for the fragile planet on which we live, the world will surely change for the better,” she said.
Why leave a bequest in your will?
Whether it’s large or small, when everyday people like you leave a gift in your Will, it creates a ripple effect that makes a big difference in the lives of people around the world. After looking after the needs of your loved ones, leaving a charitable gift (bequest) ensures that the legacy you leave behind is compassionate, meaningful and aligned with the values you carried through life.
By leaving a bequest to Oxfam in your Will, you can make an enormous difference in the lives of people living in poverty all over the world.
