Our members enjoy many great benefits from their membership. Read more about what members Alan, Malcolm, Heather, Hussein and Kasia say they love most about being members of RNIB.
Meet Alan
Alan is 60 and has been blind since birth. He decided to become a member of RNIB nearly ten years ago because he wanted to have a say in the work of RNIB as an organisation that supports people with sight loss.
"I enjoy representing other blind and partially sight people."
Vision magazine is another important reason that Alan became a member.
"I think the Vision magazine is excellent! The letters are my favourite part of the magazine because I hear different things from throughout the UK and it shows me that you're not the only who has problems and that we're all in the same boat."
Meet Malcolm
Malcolm is 51 and lives in Llandudno, North Wales. Malcolm began to experience sight loss as a teenager and was eventually forced to give up work after 28 years at the same company. Malcolm turned to RNIB for support and became an RNIB Member four years ago. He is also an active RNIB campaigner and fundraiser.
Malcolm says that being an RNIB Member has helped him to meet other blind and partially sighted people and he now has a wide circle of friends.
"It's very difficult to meet up with other blind and partially sighted people because a lot of people think once they've lost their sight or they're losing their sight there's nothing out there for them. If I hadn't have been an RNIB Member I wouldn't have met all these people."
Meet Heather
Heather is 49 and lives in Belfast. As a result of being born premature she has been blind since birth. Heather says that she became a member of RNIB because:
"Sometimes as a blind person you can feel a bit isolated and you think that you're the only one that's going through things and then you hear how other people cope and how other people manage and then you know that you're not the only one going through things."
Attending regional member forums has helped Heather to feel less isolated.
"When I go to the forum meetings I catch up with old friends, plus I make new ones!"
Asked about the cost of membership, Heather said that Vision magazine alone makes it worth the cost.
"I think it's absolutely well worth the money. For Vision magazine alone it's worth it. The £15 to me is very very well spent."
Meet Hussein
Hussein is 25 and from Scotland. He has retinitis pigmentosa and became a member of RNIB last year. Here, he explains what he likes most about membership.
"I think the regional member forums are the best thing about membership because they give me information about what's going on in the world of sight loss."
Hussein says that membership has helped him in his day to day life.
"Membership has really increased my confidence and meant that I have been able to meet new people. It's also given me confidence to travel, which is such an important thing and it's not easy. My favourite way of travelling now is by train."
As a younger person, Hussein would highly recommend that other blind or partially sighted people of a similar age become members too.
"It'd be great to see more young people becoming members to represent the views of blind and partially sighted people of all ages. The more people there, the more fun and dynamic an activity can be!"
Meet Kasia
Kasia is 32 and lives in South East London. Kasia has optic nerve atrophy because of a brain tumour that she developed three years ago. She has been a member of the RNIB since 2009 and here she tells us her experiences of being an RNIB Member:
"I love going to the forums. It's like being on the ball, knowing what's going on."
"With services like the Vision magazine you find out about opportunities you never knew you had."
Kasia says that the biggest concern for people with sight loss is the lack of understanding from others in society. She believes that being an RNIB Member gives blind and partially sighted people a powerful voice:
"For someone who is visually impaired, being a member gives you a sense of belonging. You are part of a community. It's nice to know that there are other people that understand."