This week Birmingham Hippodrome is taking part in a nationwide campaign to encourage theatre goers to leave charitable gifts in their wills. Remember A Charity Week runs 9-15 September and sees hundreds of charities come together to encourage people to pass on something wonderful to the next generation.

As part of Remember A Charity week, supporters are encouraged to become legacy pledgers to ensure the Hippodrome can keep the arts accessible to all future generations.

Gifts left to charity in Wills are a crucial source of income for many charities, and for Birmingham Hippodrome ensures the theatre can fund key services and Hippodrome Projects. This work includes free festivals, with the recent Summer in Southside family festival entertaining over 37,000 people, artistic commissions such as the recent production of West Side Story which gave 40 young people the opportunity to perform in a large scale production on the venue’s main stage, transformational work in schools and communities and developing the theatre’s facilities for future generations.

Laura Smith, Director of External Relations at Birmingham Hippodrome explains, “We are thrilled to be taking part in Remember A Charity week again. By leaving a legacy gift to Birmingham Hippodrome you can ensure that this wonderful theatre is here for decades to come, reaching those in our local communities with the least access to arts and culture.”

“With the support of Remember A Charity, we welcomed supporters of the venue last year who became legacy pledgers, and we hope this year to meet more people who share the same passion in making the arts accessible to our community.”

Former Strictly Come Dancing head judge and professional ballroom dancer, Len Goodman, is a supporter of this year’s Remember A Charity Week campaign.

Len Goodman commented: “Donating to a charity you care passionately about gives you the opportunity to continue contributing to your community and leave a positive legacy. Even a small amount can make a big difference and I’m honoured to support such a worthwhile cause.”

Tony and Julie Philips, who have been supporting the Hippodrome for over 15 years and pledged last year to include a legacy in their wills to support the theatre commented, “Local arts are essential to communities and can benefit people from all backgrounds. We particularly feel that there should be greater initiatives for children and adults from areas of the community who would not normally have the possibility to visit a theatre or attend a concert.

“Our wish is for these groups to be encouraged to take part in as many performances as possible. We included a legacy in both of our wills to help Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust to fulfil this wish.”

Find out more about Remember A Charity Week here.