A Legacy of Caring: Why Gail and Raymond Chose the Red Cross

When Gail Kelley was a child in Sudbury, one drive into Toronto in 1954 set in motion a life-long commitment to caring for people in need. Hurricane Hazel had torn through southern Ontario on October 15–16. Homes and bridges were gone, families were displaced, and the Red Cross was already there, helping people through the wreckage.

“I vividly remember driving from our home in Sudbury to Toronto, Ontario the morning after Hurricane Hazel hit,” recalls Gail. “As we passed through this devastated area, I saw the Red Cross helping people, and in this moment, I witnessed the power of compassion in action.”

That moment stayed with Gail. It connected to something already taking shape in her life: a childhood spent playing nurse with a homemade paper cap, a teenage role as president of her local Red Cross Club, and eventually, a career as a nurse. Care was never a passing interest for Gail. It became a way of life.

The emergencies Red Cross responds to today don’t wait for guaranteed funding any more than Hurricane Hazel did in 1954. In the past year alone, more than 93,500 people in Canada were supported through registering (the first step to accessing shelter, food and other emergency support) with the Red Cross after an emergency. In that same period, more than $45 million in financial assistance was provided to nearly 53,000 individuals affected by disasters and emergencies in Canada.  Sustained disaster response can’t be funded one emergency at a time. For supporters like Gail, the Legacy Circle offers a way to carry compassion forward. By including a gift in their Will, Legacy Circle members help ensure the Canadian Red Cross can reach people facing emergencies today, tomorrow and for generations to come.

For more than 125 years, the Red Cross has answered the call: helping people and communities in their moment of greatest need. Through two World Wars, major disease outbreaks, floods, wildfires, and ice storms, our teams and volunteers have shown up. From the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016 to the COVID-19 pandemic, that commitment has never wavered. Capacity has been built across generations, and that responsibility is carried with great care.

A gift in your Will costs nothing today. It doesn’t affect your financial security or how you can still care for the people you love.  It isn’t bound to a single fiscal year or a single disaster. It’s flexible in a way an emergency appeal can’t be. And it is a resource an organization can plan around rather than scramble for.

For an organization like the Canadian Red Cross, built to respond the moment something goes wrong, that kind of steady, unrestricted funding is what makes it possible to be ready before the next emergency, not just react after it.

For Gail, the decision came down to continuity: “When it came time to update my Will again after my husband died, I knew I wanted to include the Canadian Red Cross. I already give to the Canadian Red Cross monthly because they work around the world. I don’t want this to stop once I’m gone.”

Through the gift in my Will, I know that my lifetime of caring will extend far into the future. I will touch the lives of people I’ll never meet.

Gail Kelley

Like many other Canadians coast-to-coast-to-coast, Raymond Girard, a Legacy Circle member from Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, also chose to leave a gift in his Will. Raymond, who spent 44 years working on Via Rail passenger trains, made his gift, in part, in memory of his late brother Marcel. Raymond had been donating to the Red Cross for years – generous acts that first began when his brother, Marcel, was inspired to help those who need it most in times of great distress. When his brother passed, Raymond chose to honour his late brother’s legacy by continuing this support for Red Cross. Today, the Girard Family’s legacy gifts stand as an ultimate act of kindness from a generous and supportive family.

In his own words: “By leaving a gift in my Will to the Red Cross, I’m ensuring that help will always be there for those who need it most. It’s about extending your values and compassion into the future.”

Legacy Circle membership, for donors like Raymond who share a commitment to the Red Cross’ mission, isn’t only symbolic: members get a dedicated relationship manager, a Legacy Circle pin, a copy of Red Cross’s “The Best of Humanity” booklet, the choice to be recognized publicly or stay anonymous, and two impact updates a year. You, too, can follow Raymond and Gail’s example. Gail sums up why in the way only she can: “Just think if you were down and out. Who do you think would come to your aid? That’s the Red Cross.”