When Bill Ridge saw how the Leukaemia Foundation helps families facing blood cancer, it sparked a thirty-year commitment to giving.
In the early 1990s, Bill’s best friend, Peter, was diagnosed with blood cancer. Living hours away from the treatment he urgently needed, Peter faced leaving his young family behind. When the Leukaemia Foundation gave Peter’s family a place to stay minutes from hospital, Bill witnessed first-hand the difference it made.
“I saw the great things the Leukaemia Foundation did to make a terrible situation more bearable,” recalls Bill. “I decided it was a great organisation to support.”
Saving lives
The next three decades have seen Bill support our blood cancer community in several special ways. He encouraged his employer to start a Workplace Giving scheme to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation and became a stem cell donor. Ten years after Bill donated his cells in 2003, his stem-cell recipient reached out, and the pair have stayed in touch ever since.
A gift for future generations
Bill’s generosity has continued with an inspiring commitment to the Leukaemia Foundation through a gift in will.
“We wrote our Will with a local solicitor,” recalls Bill, “and it was simply a matter of saying to him, ‘This is what we’d like to do.’ It’s so simple, and I believe people comfortable enough to do it should. It really is a no-brainer.”
On behalf of the 140,000 families facing blood cancer today, we’d love to thank Bill for his selfless gifts. His care for others is having an incredible impact.
If you would like to know more about leaving a gift in your Will to the Leukaemia Foundation, please contact Emma Dwyer, Senior Philanthropy Manager, on (08) 8169 6051 or [email protected].
