Photo Credit (Pixabay)
This tale from Liverpool tells of a son who chose to use his mother’s estate to improve his hometown.
David Clarke was distraught when his mother died in a bike accident. In addition to the approximately $125,000 he received from her, she also left him a feeling of civic duty.
“A lot of my moral framework comes from her—she had a huge social conscience and was interested in the world and how it worked,” Clarke told the Guardian.
He wrote to 600 neighbors in his L8 postcode, asking them what they thought he should do with this windfall because he felt it should reflect the woman’s ideals.
Of the 38 individuals who responded, Clarke established a committee to pick four charities in Liverpool, each of whom would get a quarter of the inheritance (£25,000).
Among the charities Clarke donated to were Liverpool Kids Plant to Plate and Team Oasis.
The former, which is situated in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Liverpool, offers families free meals and hosts programs for sports, dance, photography, and other fulfilling pursuits. It is estimated that half of the children who rely on Team Oasis have physical disabilities, special needs, or mental health issues.
Paul Nilson, the director of the organization, described the donation as “such a blessing.” A portion of the funds went toward financing RV vacations in coastal communities like Blackpool, which are a classic English family vacation that these families might not otherwise be able to enjoy.
Gemma O’Brien, who frequents Team Oasis with her three children, says, “I could never get to places like that on my own with my kids.” This is especially true for her oldest son, who has autism and suffered a major brain injury as a child.
From the beginning, they have made accommodations for him. There, he discovered his love for music and is now self-taught on the piano and guitar. It’s among the few locations where I feel secure and unjudged.
For children living in the city’s urban districts, Liverpool Kids Plant to Plate hosts classes on growing and cooking their own food.
“To the individual who provided the funding, the impact is incredible,” O’Brien remarked.
The tale is reminiscent of the Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn’s “democratized philanthropy,” in which she designated 50 Salzburg residents to receive her $25 million bequest.
According to Euro News, the members of the Good Council for Redistribution, who were chosen at random from a 10,000-person pool, were given “a series of lectures, including from philosophers and economics professors, to inspire their choices.”
