Will-fully Supporting Women’s Welfare
A colourful life of unexpected twists and some dark turns led Mt Maunganui local Noeline Campbell to support the charities she herself was so close to needing.
Every March, Noeline contemplates the charities she’d like to give to and says she gets a real kick out of receiving thank you notes from the charities she’s funded.
Annual giving has become a way for Noeline to assist those less fortunate than herself. She is very aware that when she was in need, people stepped forward to help her, and now she honours those people with her own helping hand. She has also made provision to leave a legacy bequest to Acorn Foundation, to continue supporting the charities she loves, long after she’s gone.
Giving back has a poignant meaning for Noeline. She lived in the UK and painfully recalls the afternoon she had to leave her abusive ex-husband and take their baby daughter with her.
“I left while he was at work. I was in such a panic that I left my wallet behind and found out when I stopped for petrol in the evening, a hundred miles away. After I had spent two hours trying to get help, I was standing under a street lamp in light rain with my baby asleep in my arms. I couldn’t find a nappy for her and had nowhere to stay. I didn’t know what to do. A couple walking down the street asked me if anything was wrong and I burst into tears. They were wardens of an old people’s home and gave us the guest room for the night. They gave me a phone call to my old school friend from Katikati, who lived another hundred miles away, and she offered me a room at her place. In the morning my saviours put petrol in my car and gave me twenty pounds.
“Through that experience, I became highly aware of the value of not only compassion, but also of Women’s Refuge, although I didn’t end up needing it.”
“Ever since, in whatever country I have lived – UK, Bahrain, New Zealand – I have supported Women’s Refuge, but I have now started supporting other organisations that can help women and families before their situations require the involvement of Women's Refuge. Through Acorn, it was easy for me to find out more about these organisations, and the team provided some great recommendations. I am interested in supporting charities that try to break the cycle of violence and the cycle of poverty for women.”
“I don’t just support local causes,” says Noeline. “I’m really interested in the work of Hamlin Fistula in Ethiopia, as well. So I've started a living giving fund with Hamlin Fistula, but I've got a percentage of my estate gifted to Acorn.”
Recently attending Tauranga’s Live for More’s graduation (one of the charities she supports), Noeline found it gratifying and heartwarming to see the results of her giving.
“It makes me feel happy. “
Noeline’s giving has created an invested community interest. She encourages those who haven’t updated their wills to consider leaving gifts to support the areas they care most about.
“If you set up an endowment fund during your lifetime, or you could make provision for it in your will, it will be there after you have died and generate income to fund those charities you supported when you were alive. You know during your lifetime what effect your fund has, and you know that it will continue to have an increasing effect long after you have gone. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Noeline’s heartfelt smile says it all.
Create a lasting impact this wills month. Learn more about Wills Month 2024 Here.