PEOPLE can transform the lives of young people with disabilities by leaving a gift in their will.

National Star, in partnership with law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys, is stage a Make a Will fortnight.

Harrison Clark Rickerbys will write simple wills free of charge in return for a requested donation to National Star.

National Star, based in Ullenwood, supports hundreds of people with disabilities in Gloucestershire.

It provides education, training and personal development.

It received an outstanding result in a recent Ofsted report.

The life-changing opportunities and specialist facilities that National Star provides are only made possible through voluntary contributions.

For student Joe Rae, 20, a legacy gift made a dramatic difference to his life.

Thanks to the legacy, National Star was able to develop new specialist accommodation that could provide smaller scale residential support and quiet space for young people with severe and complex disabilities.

When Joe arrived at National Star he had limited mobility and difficulty communicating his needs beyond familiar people.

Now he is flourishing.

Joe has developed his communication skills and can now adapt to new people and change.

Through his specialist therapy programmes, Joe is physically much stronger and he is beginning to make his own decisions and choices about his life.

"Joe needs a bit of quiet space. He loves being at the hub of all that's going on in the house but he likes to move back to the privacy of his own room. The residential experience has been key to Joe becoming more emotionally self-sufficient. It has enhanced the way he has progressed," said his mother Edel.

ÒWe were told that Joe, at aged 18, had reached his potential and did not have the capacity to learn anything more.

"Joe, with the support of National Star, has proved that argument wrong - as I knew he would,"she added.

The requested donation is £175 for a single Will and £200 for husband/wife or partner mirror Wills, with 100 per cent of the donations going to National Star.

Appointments are limited to four a day and donations must be made at the initial appointment.

To book an appointment, contact Christine Holder, at Harrison Clark Rickerbys on 01242 224422.