Remember a Charity Week draws attention to the incredible impact of leaving gifts in wills on people’s lives
Speaking with Connect Radio on its 20th anniversary, Deborah Rosen, age 25, from Norfolk, explains how RNIB’s counselling service helped her to face a future with sight loss and discover a new path as a published author.
Running this year from the 11 -17 September, the national campaign reminds us how we can contribute to the work of our favourite charity long after we’ve gone. Almost a third of RNIB’s vital work is thanks to people remembering RNIB in their will.
Deborah began to lose her sight age 11, due to a processing disorder and struggled without support at school. She has since gone on to self-publish her third book, parallel to her ancestor, renowned Charles Babbage's book, written in 1830, immortalising his legacy in modern times.
Deborah experienced bullying at school by her teachers, whilst losing vision rapidly - which meant she had to step back from education, leaving with barely any qualifications. She then reached out to RNIB for help:
“Although my condition can get better with age, it’s not clear if it will improve in my case as it’s so severe. I got in touch with RNIB when I was about 19. I wanted to know what was available to me going forward, to maintain my independence to ensure I could still achieve the things that I wanted to. And I absolutely found that. It’s so much easier to face sight loss when you are given tried and tested ways of coping, it taught me a lot about managing emotions, and my expectations of sight loss.
After you’ve gone, you won’t know if someone close to you will experience sight loss. It’s so important we ensure that charities like RNIB remain in place, so that there’s something in place for people to access the help that I have been able to.”
Find out more about how to leave a legacy for RNIB.
You can listen to Deborah’s interview on Connect Radio.
