Deborah wrote a piece for the Wallstreet Journal, and you can read an excerpt below:

When I was growing up in New York, one of my favorite excursions was to the New Jersey Science Center. I was a geeky kid (I asked for a microscope for Christmas when I was 10) and was thrilled by learning. The exhibit at the Science Center that most interested me and scared me was the Touch Tunnel. The Touch Tunnel was a pitch black labyrinth in which you crawled on your hands and knees, groping your way forward as the materials you tread on changed beneath you. My heart always began to flutter with anticipation as I waited my turn, but still I gathered my courage and always found my way out. That first glimpse of white light at the end of the tunnel, like a beacon, pulled me through and I remember how vivid the world seemed when I stepped out, my hair askew and knees red with rug burn.

The Touch Tunnel was meant to simulate blindness. As a way of helping children to understand on some small level how people without sight experience the physical world. I didn’t know at the time how intimately I would come to understand that in my adult life. EJ Scott, the love of my life, is going blind. He wasn’t born blind, and he didn’t lose it all at once in an accident. He has a rare genetic disease called Choroideremia. Essentially the proteins that protect his eyes from the sun are missing and the cells that create vision are dying. It begins peripherally and moves inward until total blindness. Right now EJ has less than 20 degrees of vision in each eye. If you can imagine looking down two paper towel rolls, you’ll get a sense of what his scope is.

Read more

This video was done by EJ, Deborah’s boyfriend. He was diagnosed with Choroideremia a few years ago, and he’s been doing some good work to spread the word about the disease and get some help to Choroideremia Research Foundation.

EJ Scott is working to raise at least $144,000 to fund the research that will save his sight and that of many others! EJ is doing this by committing to run twelve marathons, in twelve months, in twelve different cities, in 2012.

After a fundraiser by EJ that brought in over $10,000 during which he lost over 80 pounds, EJ finished the Chicago Marathon on October 10th, 2010 while blindfolded! EJ will also be blogging about his training and experiences at www.ejcurechm.blogspot.com.

As you have seen, last night’s episode was dedicated to Jesse James Cartwright. Jesse was part of the True Blood transportation crew and lost his life earlier this year, leaving behind his wife and three children. True Blood Staff, Cast and Fans are uniting to raise funds for Jesse’s family.

In support of the Trust Fund, The Vault and AllStephenMoyer.com are auctioning off a special True Blood Season 2 Pack:

- True Blood Season 2 DVD (Region 1) signed by Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Sam Trammell, Kristin Bauer, Joe Manganiello, Deborah Ann Woll, Jim Parrack and Allan Hyde
- Glamoured by Godric t-shirt signed by Allan Hyde (Godric)
- Shapeshifter t-shirt signed by Ashley Jones (Daphne)
- 1 high quality 8×10 inch photo of Bill that Stephen Moyer will sign with your name
- 1 high quality 8×10 inch photo of Sookie & Bill that Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer will sign with your name
- 1 high quality 8×10 inch photo of Eric

Place your bid on eBay: http://r.ebay.com/UOvByM. The auction ends on July 24.

Also, TrueBlood-News, Sam-Tramell.com, AlexSkarsgard.net & FYeahJoeManganiello are auctioning off the script for season 3 Ep 302, “Beautifully Broken” signed by Alexander Skarsgard.

Place your bid on eBay: http://r.ebay.com/UOvByM. The auction ends on July 23.

We would like to invite all True Blood fans to make a donation, no matter how small, in support of the Trust Fund. You will find the PayPal button on http://www.jessecartwright.com/donations.htm.

Thank you!

Deborah Ann Woll has teamed up with The Vault for a very special auction that will benefit the Choroideremia Research Foundation.

In close collaboration with Deborah we are auctioning off the following items:

- Unique portrait signed PERSONALIZED for you by Deborah. You will also receive a HANDWRITTEN PERSONAL note from Deborah.
- SFX UK Magazine: double vampire and True Blood issue signed by Deborah Ann Woll, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

The auction ends on Sunday July 17. Place your bid on eBay: http://r.ebay.com/U3mHUf

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2 on BLU RAY Signed by EVERYONE at the 2010 True Blood Comic-Con San Diego Panel specifically to be auctioned and raise money for CHOROIDEREMIA RESEARCH. Signed by Deborah Ann Woll, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Joe Manganiello, Kristin Bauer and more.

Ok guys and gals, this will get your blood pumping, provided you have a heartbeat. Our buddy, Greyson Wolf, who helped to design the fangs for True Blood season one, has teamed up with photographer, Justin Kates, to create 80 pages of dark Vampire art that features vampires, vixens, and temptresses galore.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book is going to The Choroideremia Research Foundation. If you are not familiar with Choroideremia, it is a disease that effects the peripheral vision and over time, results in blindness. EJ Scott, our baby vamp Jessica, played by Deborah Ann Woll’s boyfriend, is effected by this disease along with thousands of other families. you can read more about the CRF, HERE. If you want to go get your Goth on, check out this book. The artistry is beautiful.

Thanks True Blood’s Nest for the heads up!

Nikki Reed from Twilight and Thirteen fame supports Deborah and her boyfriends fight to cure Choroideremia. She did a post on her official website about E.J. Check it:

EJ, EJ’s nephew and Deborah

If you’re a Twilight fan, its possible that you’ve heard/read about the cast complaining that we have no peripheral vision due to the lenses we wear in the films. The claustrophobia that comes from having limited vision is indescribable, and it makes every move/interaction more challenging. Unlike EJ Scott, a man who I have recently become friends with, I get to take those lenses out everyday and I can see normally again.

Deborah Ann Woll is one of the most gifted actresses of our time. (You may know her from her brilliant portrayal of Jessica on “True Blood.”) I recently had the privilege of playing her little sister in a movie called Catch 44. There are many layers to Deb and she does a very good job of protecting her personal life. But a few days ago she opened up to me about something very serious happening to someone she loved. She told me that in a couple of weeks her boyfriend was going to be doing a half marathon – blindfolded. I smirked, not understanding the weight of what I assumed was a joke, and she explained that the blindfold was a metaphor, because her boyfriend EJ is actually going blind.

Read more in her official website.