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Make Fred’s legacy, your legacy

How would you like to be remembered? Leaving a gift in your Will to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ creates a powerful legacy that reflects your life, values and experiences.

Kiwi eye surgeon Fred Hollows’ dream was a world where no one is needlessly blind or vision impaired. He championed the right of all people to high-quality and affordable eye care. A gift to The Foundation in your Will helps keep Fred’s dream alive.

Fred left an incredible legacy through the work of The Foundation in Australia and New Zealand.

As of 2024, in the Pacific:

  • more than 98,928 people received sight-saving surgery
  • 401 eye doctors and nurses have been trained 
  • 7 eye health facilities have been supported
  • 773 outreaches have been conducted in the most remote communities of the Pacific to help restore sight.

Your legacy will live on through the people whose lives have been transformed by having their sight restored.

Free Wills Fortnight

5th to 18th May

Write your Will online for FREE thanks to our partners at Safewill.

By leaving a gift in your Will to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ, you can make Fred’s legacy, your legacy, and help restore sight across the Pacific for generations to come.

Why leave a gift to The Foundation in your Will?

By pledging a gift in your Will, you will help change the lives of not only people who are blind, but their family members, too. To lose your sight is devastating, and for every person who is needlessly blind there is often someone else selflessly giving up their livelihood to help care for them. Your support means more people can return to work or school, so they can build a better future for themselves, their families, and their community.

Join us today, and create a legacy with vision.

GiftInWill Fred and family

“We discover our own humanity when we help others.”

- Professor Fred Hollows

People just like you have given the gift of sight

Alison and Richard: “The gift of sight is one of the best gifts”

After a lifetime wearing glasses, Alison treasures the gift of sight. “I’ve been a doctor for 40 years; there’s no way I could have done the job I love without adequate vision.”

Her partner, Richard, had a serious eye injury at six years old, which made him value his eyesight and helped him decide to support The Foundation.

“We will be leaving money in our Will so we can help The Foundation continue the fantastic work once we’ve gone.” 

GiftInWill Richard and Alison picture scaled
GiftInWill Rae

Rae: “Giving the gift of sight is everything”

Rae grew up knowing the difference quality eye care makes: her father was an ophthalmologist, and worked in Niue. 

Rae has admired the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ for many years and is particularly impressed by The Foundation’s commitment to training. She is therefore glad to leave a gift in her Will.

“The decision to leave money was not a hard one. Giving the gift of sight is everything.”

More people creating a legacy with vision

GiftInWill Fay

Fay’s pledge

Fay knew Fred’s father and kept a watchful eye on his remarkable son.

Fay followed Fred’s progress and his incredible work. She was inspired to support The Foundation when she heard Fred’s wife Gabi talk about our important sight-saving work.

Fay contributed towards the upgrade of the National Eye Centre in Vanuatu. She travelled all the way to Vanuatu to witness the opening. We caught up with Fay and asked her to talk about her thoughts on The Foundation and why she has chosen to leave a gift to us in her Will. 

GiftInWill Fred and family

Glenis and her decision

Glenis has left a gift in her Will to The Foundation because she thinks we do “an absolutely marvellous job”.

“Having been born with poor eyesight, I have worn glasses since I was nine years old,’ explains Glenis. “I will never forget the day I put my glasses on for the first time and was amazed, astonished, overwhelmed by what I could see. I want others to have that same feeling.”

Glenis is impressed by The Foundation’s focus on training. “The education and training The Fred Hollows Foundation provides is fantastic,” she says. “Without The Foundation working in the Pacific community, I think there would be no opportunity for people to regain their eyesight.” 

“I think very highly of Fred Hollows, who gave his life to helping others. I feel The Foundation carries on his important work. I have no kids and I want what I have accumulated in my life to go to a worthy cause … so I picked The Fred Hollows Foundation.” 

GiftInWill Mike 1

Mike’s pledge to help others

Mike, from the Horowhenua region, has been following the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ for two decades. He previously lived in Australia, where he also followed Fred’s work and was impressed by his moral integrity.

“He was a good man,” says Mike. “He wanted to do what’s right for humanity. He dedicated his life to trying to help mankind – and I can go with that.”

Mike wanted to ensure that when he passes away his money goes towards organisations he supports, so he’s made a gift in his Will to The Foundation.

“I’m sure The Foundation will know exactly what to do with the money,” he says. “Giving the gift of sight means helping people make it through life. And it’s my duty as a human being to help others who are less fortunate.”

GiftInWill Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s Pacific connection

A personal connection with the Pacific means Elizabeth knows the impact of her gift.

Elizabeth’s father served in the Pacific during World War II, and on the 50th anniversary of his landing on Mono Island in Solomon Islands, she had the chance to visit.

“One man I had the great pleasure of meeting was known as ‘Doc John’, who, to his great dismay, was no longer able to read his Bible as his sight had deteriorated,” she explains. 

“I learned a lot on that trip about Solomon Islands and other Pacific islands in the region. It made me very aware of how remote they are. When I found out The Foundation helped in those places, I really wanted to join in and encourage others.”

Elizabeth is pleased that a gift in her Will can make a difference. “To know that people like ‘Doc John’ can get the care they need, from their own trained people, is a dream.”

People just like you have given the gift of sight

Find out more

Our partnership with Safewill

Remembering The Foundation in your Will is a very personal decision and one that carries great hope. It’s an act that expresses what you believe in, and one that will help us work towards a world where no one is needlessly blind or vision impaired.

We are proud to have partnered with Safewill, a trusted, safe, and easy-to-use online Will writing platform. Every Will is checked by a lawyer to make sure it has been completed correctly. Thanks to this partnership, our supporters are invited to write their Will online.

The Safewill process is:

  • Fast – it takes less than 20minutes using the step-by-step guide.
  • Affordable – our unique link gives you 50% off, and free twice a year (March and September).
  • Easy – simply fill out your Will online, submit for review, print and sign.

One of our supporters, Diana, used Safewill to create her Will online and include a gift for The Foundation.

“I’d been looking into creating a Will online but was uneasy about doing this without professional legal advice,” Diana explains. “I checked out Safewill as a possible option and decided to go ahead because the cost was very reasonable and the process included a check by their legal team, and the ability to ask questions via an online chat facility.”

Diana was pleased to find the experience very positive. “Instructions were clear and the areas covered spanned everything I wanted to include in my Will. The result was a comprehensive Will that laid out all these details and will, I’m sure, make the job of the Executor more straightforward and efficient.”

Visit the Safewill page to find out more and get started.

Suggested wording for your Will

Residuary gift

A residuary estate gift is a percentage of your estate (everything you own) once all debts, funeral expenses and cash legacies have been paid.

Leaving a residuary gift to a charity will ensure that your family and loved ones are looked after first. By leaving this type of gift you won’t have to worry if your circumstances change. The benefit of a residuary gift is that it is less likely to need updating over time and the value of your gift won’t be affected by inflation.

Suggested wording:

“I give the residue (or % share of the residue) of my estate to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ (registered charity number CC23722), for its general purpose, and I declare that a receipt given by the Treasurer or other proper officer of the Foundation shall be an absolute discharge to my Trustees.”

A pecuniary gift is a fixed sum of money left to a person or organisation in a Will. It does not fluctuate with changes in the value of your estate.

This type of gift is straightforward and allows you to specify an exact amount that you wish to leave. However, it’s important to note that over time, inflation may reduce the real value of the gift unless your Will is updated.

Suggested wording:

“I give to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ (registered charity number CC23722), for its general purposes, the sum of (insert Amount) and I declare that a receipt given by the Treasurer or other proper officer of the Foundation shall be an absolute discharge to my Trustees.”

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is a registered charitable trust – registration AK/566925.

The Foundation is registered with the Charities Commission – registration number CC23722.

or more information on wording or to leave a gift in your Will, please contact us for a no-obligation chat.

Karen Blake

Get in touch

Contact Karen Blake, Relationship Manager

Download our brochure about leaving a gift in your Will.