Bequests can be an important pillar of support for the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa’s Community Ministries. Centre 454 and The Well recently were beneficiaries of $50,000 bequests, the largest they have ever received. Cornerstone Housing for Women has also received a bequest of $50,000, one of 10 it has received in its 40-year history.
To encourage more people to leave bequests in their wills, Cornerstone is sponsoring workshops to raise awareness of their value and the means to implement them. Archdeacon Chris Dunn, whose parish of All Saints Westboro was also a recent beneficiary, says there is a take-away for Anglicans: There are many worthwhile charities out there, but as Anglicans let’s remember the work of our own charities and their need for support.
Here’s how bequests from Shirley and Frank Taylor and Janet McInnes are continuing their legacies of caring.
Shirley and Frank Taylor
Shirley and Frank Taylor made the parish of All Saints Westboro their family for more than 20 years until their deaths in 2016 and 2020.
In their wills, Shirley and Frank left a bequest of $50,000 to Cornerstone Housing for Women and another of the same amount to the day program at Centre 454.
Archdeacon Chris Dunn, rector of All Saints at the time, says the Taylors were always very engaged and concerned parishioners. They also left a bequest to the parish which will help support its ministries, including the Westboro Region Food Bank, as well as infrastructure.
Many of their friends were fellow parishioners, including Peter Nicoll and his wife, Marci Taylor (no relation). Before coming to Canada to work with L’Arche, the charity for people with intellectual disabilities, Marci Taylor had been advisor to the Governor of Indiana on homelessness.
She and Shirley became close friends and talked often about homelessness and women’s concerns. Shirley and Frank became ardent supporters of Cornerstone and Centre 454.
“They were wonderful people,” Archdeacon Dunn says. ‘They saw the parish as a family and the family gathered around them when they died.”
Both Rachel Robinson, executive director of Centre 454 and the other day programs, and Amber Bramer, director of communications and fundraising for Cornerstone, agree that the respective bequests will have a significant impact.
They cite escalating costs for food and supplies and the increased demand for their services coming out of the pandemic. Bramer says the Cornerstone shelter is full and has been forced to turn away as many 40 women a day.
Janet McInnes
Janet McInnes had personal experience with overcoming adversity, experience that she practised in the service of others as executive director of The Well.
When she joined The Well in the mid-‘90s she had faced a difficult childhood and the loss of her husband at a tragically young age.
“The tenacity she had in her life was to turn it around,” her daughter Shawna-Rose says. “You can be faced with adversity and fear and you can turn it around with the right community support.”
Patricia Connolly, who shared executive director duties with Janet for three years before Patricia retired and Janet took over, says Janet “was one of the most generous women I’ve ever met.”
Her spirit and her generosity live on at The Well through a bequest of $50,000, the largest The Well has received.
“Janet’s commitment and devotion to social justice, and in particular to the women of The Well, was remarkable,” the Rev. Canon Dr. PJ Hobbs, director general of Community Ministries, says. “It is a testament to her that she thought to remember The Well in her will.”
Shawna-Rose says her mother was always committed to helping others. “It encompassed not just her work but all of us, her family. I hope this will encourage others to give back as well for those who need it.”
Patricia Connolly says Janet’s compassion and strong desire for social justice embraced the word, ministry. “She worked diligently for and with a community of women who trusted her enough to share their life journeys with her. Many lived on the edge of homelessness and helplessness and Janet strived to help them overcome the barriers that kept them from reaching their true potential…”
Darlene Carew, senior program support worker and long-time friend, was part of the team that took over the direction after Janet, diagnosed with cancer, was forced to retire. “She absolutely loved The Well and she was a really good leader.”
St. John, Antrim — Deanery of the Southwest