Executive Director, Peter Rozeluk

May is National Leave a Legacy ™ Month! This is a national public awareness program designed to encourage people to leave a gift through their will or any other gift planning instrument to a charity or non-profit organization of their choice.

As I considered the word legacy, I realized that we do the word a bit of a disservice if we limit it to the financial realm. On the lighter side, the word legacy on its own is a 48 point word in Scrabble, if the Y is on a double letter space and the E on a triple word space.

On the contemplative side, legacy is a great word because it is timeless. It links the past with the present, and the present with the future. It reminds us of cause and effect. We benefit positively, or suffer negatively, from the legacy of our predecessors. In turn, our own action, or inaction, today leaves a legacy for those who follow us.

Legacy is a great word because it has depth and is multi-dimensional. As a tax accountant providing estate planning advice to maximize the financial wealth bequeathed to others, I was often reminded that the non-financial legacies of culture, love, relationships, heritage and faith were often far more important and valuable than financial wealth.

Legacy is a great word because it is inclusive. We receive and leave legacies as individuals, and as members of organizations and community. What we do as individuals matters; what we do collectively matters.

Legacy is a great word because it is a word of choice. That you will leave a legacy is certain, but the type of legacy you leave is up to you. That’s a lot to think about in the month of May.
Mission Services of London – loving God, loving others, leaving a legacy of service.

by Peter Rozeluk, Executive Director