A recent partnership between the Steve Prescott Foundation (SPF) and Accord Wills of St Helens has seen the recent donation of a very generous £1035 to the SPF.  Accord Wills offer a free Wills advice surgery at their offices on Ormskirk Street, St Helens  on Wednesday  between 1030 and 1700. Home visits can also be arranged. Proceeds from all Wills made are donated to the SPF.

Sarah Williams of Accord Wills said.

‘I am extremely proud to hand over what I am sure will be the first in a long line of donations to the SPF under this new partnership that we have established. Whilst the partnership between Accord and the SPF is relatively new, my connections with the charity go back somewhat further.

Having lived in St Helens all of my life I established Accord in 2012 with the support from St Helens Chamber of commerce. I had previously worked in a high street firm specialising in private client matters before moving on acting as Head of Legal Practice for a national subsidiary of Skipton Building Society. I have always wanted to help people put their affairs in order and was also selected by the Legal Services Board to be one of only 12 experts across the country to review and provide my opinion on a sample of Wills made by other professionals. I am passionate about what we do and that is the reason that Accord is going from strength to strength. What started as a small one lady office in St Helens Chambers is now a national company with over a hundred consultants. We make the provision of legal services easy, comfortable and affordable and offer every client a free home consultation without obligation, my aim is to remove the stigma about planning for the inevitable and to raise awareness that planning ahead is the best option.

In my spare time I was part of the original group who climbed Kilimanjaro in 2013, having already taken part in the St Helens 10k and also the Taylor Park Challenge the Kilimanjaro trip was close to my heart as my own father was battling cancer at that point in time. As a lot of relatives do I felt somewhat helpless in relation to what I could do to help him and the challenge put forward by the SPF enabled me to push myself to the limit as well as raising money for a good cause.

Sadly my father lost his battle with cancer in March 2015 but I take a lot of comfort in knowing that he saw me achieve climbing to the top of that mountain. I have experienced first-hand the pain of losing a loved one and I have also helped many families cope with bereavements in my professional capacity, it is never easy but our aim at Accord is to make the most difficult time of your life a little easier to bear. The main advice I would give anyone reading this is to plan ahead, put your affairs in order whilst you can, none of us know what is around the corner, but by sparing a little time now you can make sure the burden is so much easier for your loved ones later on.

The partnership with the SPF has made some people stop and think about their future, about their legacy and about what they can do to make sure their loved ones inherit the maximum possible with the minimum of inconvenience and in doing so the charity have benefited as well. I am extremely proud as a local business to be able to support a local charity whilst ensuring our clients receive the best possible advice.'

SPF Trustee Linzi Prescott has been instrumental in developing the SPF partnership with Accord Wills.

Linzi says, "I am very grateful to Accord Legal Services for their continued support of the SPF. I am passionate about raising awareness of the services they offer, especially the Will writing. I know how hard it is to be given devastating  news and the worries that brings. It is so much easier to make a Will when it is your choice and not a necessity. It is something everybody should think about no matter what age you are. I hope that this partnership can promote the importance of making a Will at the same time as raising much needed funds for the Charities we support."

If you would like any information in regards to the Accord/SPF promotion please call 01744 807048 to book your FREE consultation