Legacy needs your help

Caring: Legacy Sydney President, Charles Wright with two Junior Legatees. Photo by Legacy

By Catherine McDonald

COMRADESHIP is the foundation of Legacy. Caring for the families of our fallen has become a tradition enlisting generations of service and exservice men and women since the Great War.

Now Legacy’s role has expanded and the number of dependants Legacy cares for continues to increase, but the numbers of service and ex-service personnel signing up to help is regrettably less and less.

“Legacy was set up by them, for them and now we need them,” the President of Sydney Legacy, Charles Wright, said.

“Our Legatee numbers are dwindling and we desperately need those serving and ex-serving personnel to take up the reins with Legacy, because Legacy is there for them. It’s their organisation.”

Today, Legacy cares for the families of all service men and women whether they are killed during hazardous service or in training, on peacekeeping missions or during disaster relief operations.

“Legacy is there to care for their families when they don’t return. The families of those in the Black Hawk disaster for instance, or the Sea King disaster, have become Legacy dependants and are now part of the Legacy family,” Mr Wright said.

“The role of the men and women who volunteer their time – the Legatees – is changing. Today Legacy employs office staff and community service workers (CSWs), allowing Legatees to play more of a support role, providing advice and coordinating activities.

“I have always regarded Legatees as playing the role of an uncle or aunt to their dependants. For instance, if a widow or one of our children needs help, they know they can turn to their Legatee for advice.”

There are around 134,000 widows Australia-wide under Legacy’s care today, and this number is increasing. Owing to recent conflicts the number of children in Legacy’s care is re-establishing itself, while the number of dependants with disabilities is also steadily growing.

“I believe Legacy is the final step in every military career – you join, you serve, you look after the dependants of your mates – it makes sense to me,” Mr Wright said.