The BHF supports over 1,200 pioneering research projects across the country. A gift in your Will is quite literally a gift to the future, helping our life-saving work for generations to come. In 2007, we produced the My generation leaflet, which provides information on making a Will and explains the importance of legacies to our future work.

Here's the story of one of our beneficiaries who wanted to give something back: Peter Keating collapsed while watching his beloved Gillingham play Bristol Rovers. Peter had had a heart attack - and his heart had stopped. "It was the end of the match - I could have been trampled to death but, thankfully, the stewards saw me go down. If I'd have been outside the ground when I collapsed, it would have been game over." Paramedics used a BHF-funded defibrillator to get Peter's heart beating again. He's full of praise for the BHF, because of the machine that saved his life and for the aftercare he received: "The BHF Heart Nurses in the hospital gave me terrific support. They also recommended that I attend cardiac rehab, which gives you the confidence to get active again."

In 2007/8 almost 850 people told us they had left a life-saving gift to the BHF in their Will, and over 5,500 asked us for further information. In total we received almost £50,000,000 from legacies - nearly half the BHF's total regular income. And Peter is back on his feet, but these days it's not only Gillingham he's supporting - he's joined the ranks of the BHF's fans, and pledged us a legacy in his Will.

In 2008/9, we'll focus on attracting new pledges from our supporters, and develop relationships with those who have already independently left us a gift. For more information about pledging us a gift in your Will that will save lives in the future, please visit bhf.org.uk/legacies