Cordelia Biddle

"I think it's important to understand there are ways to support ECS other than giving cash. A bequest established in a will offers a practical alternative," says Cordelia Biddle, secretary to the ECS board of trustees. She supports ECS today through the annual fund and tomorrow by including ECS in her will.

"Aiding those in need through ECS's programs is an important part of my life, and I'm happy to know my commitment to the agency and its clients will continue long after I'm no longer around. A bequest ensures that my wishes are carried out."

Biddle is an author of fiction and non-fiction and also writes a mystery series [Crossword Mysteries, Berkley Prime Crime Books] with fellow author and husband Steve Zettler. They've donated percentages of proceeds from their suspense novels to ECS, as part of their "novel" approach to gift giving.

Joanne and Raymond Welsh

"To help perpetuate the care and services of ECS as a bridge to more independence for those in need is an enduring blessing from God," says Raymond Welsh in describing the legacy gift he and his wife have made to ECS.

"We've all heard the old cliché about giving something back," Welsh continues. "The important thing is really service, not measuring or 'scorekeeping'. What's truly motivational is the opportunity to serve others who need our caring, giving, encouragement, and support."

The Welshs' generosity is well-known at the University of Pennsylvania, where they both graduated, and at Bancroft NeuroHealth, an organization for the developmentally disabled where Welsh is chairman of the board.

Welsh is senior vice president of UBS Financial Services, Inc., in Philadelphia. He is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and a trustee of Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is also an overseer of the Annenberg Center at Penn, and a former board chair of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Welsh is currently serving his second term as trustee at ECS, where he also heads the Bishop White Circle of givers of $10,000 and above.