An appeal by Shine together which encourages more people to write a will has won the backing of Bristol trained actress Stephanie Cole.

The charity at Southmead and Frenchay hospitals is launching a free guide to help de-mystify the complexities of writing a will and leaving a gift to charity.

Stephanie Cole has added her support to the appeal and written the foreword to the free guide. She said, “Hardly anybody goes from cradle to grave without having to visit hospital. Let us make sure they are the best we can possibly have.

“Somebody once said, ‘If you want to change the world, start in your own back yard’, and I think that is why this campaign is such a brilliant idea. Let us start in our own back yard and look at these fantastic hospitals.”

Bristol law firm Meade King has helped compile the free guide and is making a donation to the ‘Shine together’ charity for each will written as a result of enquiries from the leaflet.

Senior Partner at Meade King Richard Boulding said, "As a Bristol firm we are delighted to be working with Shine Together in supporting hospitals in the local area".

A legacy is a bequest to charity that is left by someone in their will.  By making a charitable donation in a will, the total amount of inheritance tax due from the estate is reduced.

Legacy gifts play a big part in helping support our charitable projects at Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals.

Thanks to these very kind gifts from local people we have been able to support a number of projects at the hospitals, including purchasing new equipment for our Renal unit and our neo-natal unit and improving facilities in the Barbara Russell Children’s Unit.

We are extremely grateful for the support of Stephanie Cole and Meade King in the production of this free guide. We hope it will help many more people understand how their support will make a difference to future generations in Bristol.

To get your free copy of our "Your legacy for future generations" guide or find out about how your legacy gift can help Southmead and Frenchay hospitals, please call 0117 323 8624.