This Fundraiser Has Now Ended!

This fundraiser not yet live and the reason is I want to raise awareness to the campaign before hand. Once going live on my "T-Birthday" October 31st you will only have 60 days to donate to help be reach my goal. The Fund raiser is now Live! Please help me reach the maximum number of supporters by sharing my fundraiser and asking people to do the same. The link to use from October 31st onward is http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/chris-campaign.

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***UPDATE*** 01/27/2014

Winner of the highest contribution is Catherine Mason. She has been awarded a hand made purse from a local seamstress. There were no contributions from referrals nor any true referrals on record to announce any other winners. hopefully this can change during the next campaign :)

****UPDATE*** 11/14/2013

Hey Everyone!!! The campaign has been doing great and I appreciate everyone's help in reaching my goal. I have had a few people say they are having trouble with contributing so I have alternate options such as direct Paypal payment or email contribution should you wish to support me in an alternate method. Please send me an email at nlgeekdad (at) gmail (dot) com to advise me of the trouble you are having and the amount and method of payment you wish. If you decide on one of the perks available please also let me know so that if it is available I can remove the availability of it on the campaign page as to not have duplicate request of the same item. If a perk has been all claimed it is no longer available and thus cannot be requested through this method. As a reminder my ultimate goal is not only my own surgery to change the policy of MCP to include Gender Reassignment for all Transgender persons of Newfoundland, you can help me do this by printing the petition and mailing it to the address provided on this page.

Thanks Again For All Your Support;

Chris   

***UPDATE*** 11/04/2013 

Contest time!!!!! I really want this campaign to be a success so I thought about this and I have decided its time to do a contest and get this campaign moving. The contest will run to the end of the campaign. I have 3 prizes (TBD) and 3 ways to win. Lets see who is down for the competition. The 3 ways to win are: 

1.) Highest Contribution: If you want to win this prize its pretty simple contribute the most and you win! If you can not contribute all at once that's okay as you have to fill in your details I will add it all up in the end and if you are the winner you still get the perks you selected plus the prize for most contributed.

2.) Most Referred: It is as easy as it sounds. Refer the most people (they have to click the link) to the page by sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Email or Embedded on your own site and you can win. As a side note you will have had to contribute at least 1$ to the campaign yourself or have an Indiegogo account for me to verify your referrals. 

3.) Most Referred Contributions: This is a lot like the last, except this runs on the most money collected from your referrals. To get this prize refer everyone you know to come contribute to the campaign, if they do and you helped raise the most money you win! As a note you will have had to contribute at least 1$ to the campaign yourself or have an Indiegogo account for me to verify your referrals.  

And that folks is all there is too it. What are you waiting for you cant win like this, get to it! 

***UPDATE*** 10/29/2013

While preparing the campaigns last minute details I have been informed to accept Paypal contributions there are yet more fees associated. At first I thought to forgo Paypal transactions and only accept credit card. As I realize this will limit my success rate I had to since reevaluate the total goal so that I can include Paypal. As every transaction through Paypal will have an added fee associated I had to increase the goal to $15,000. This fee that is charged by Paypal is per transaction and only to those who select Paypal as the preferred method of payment (the contributor has the choice to pay the fee or charge it to the campaign, I leave this choice to you). I hope that you all understand this decision did not come lightly but to be successful in raising the needed funds I had to open the account to allow more of a variety of payment options.

I have also been looking into the surgeons that I feel has great reputations in the trans community. I have narrowed down to only a couple of Doctors that will fit within the price range of the campaign. I will let you all know more once I receive my consultation with the chosen sergeon. 

***UPDATE*** 10/22/2013

Featured in a local paper today check it out here. This article was written by a great reporter and friend Melissa Jenkins. Hoping it will bring on the much needed attention this campaign needs to be a success. 

***UPDATE*** 10/15/2013

I completed the petition! Unfortunately when reviewing the guidelines to petition MCP I learned it has to go through the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly and thus cannot be loaded onto a website like change.org. As a result I will not be able to take electronic signatures. Good news is I have found a solution to get the extra signatures from all of you. I have uploaded the petition on to this campaign (under the Gallery) and for any of you who feels inclined to sign. All you need to do is print the document called Letter of Petition sign it and forward it back to me at my mailing address as provided below. Once I have received the signatures on the letters I will compile the documents and address them to the member of the house to review. The signature can be only on the letter of petition provided as it is a formal petition against MCP and follows the strict guidelines. Please use only blue ink. The signed letters can be forwarded to the address:

Christopher Higdon                                                                                                      17 a Fahey Street                                                                                                      St. John's, NL                                                                                                            A1G 1G3 

***UPDATE***  10/10/2013

I have received some emails detailing why I am wrong in what I am doing (my campaign) and it seams that many people do not understand the necessity of my surgery I wanted to disclose the information as I feel it necessary for people to understand why this is important and why I have asked for your help. Many people in other provinces have asked why I would do this if surgery is covered under the provincial health plan? What many of them didn't know is that while other Provinces health care plans fund the surgery's, Newfoundland's MCP does not. MCP will cover the surgery only after one gets a second diagnoses from the Clark Institute of Toronto. Meaning I would travel back and forth to Toronto for at least 2 years to have a second Doctor tell me again that I have gender dysphoria. I can agree that MCP should want a Doctors diagnosis (which I have) to validate the necessity of surgery however why is it that a doctor here cannot do the same when they have the same degrees? 

I understand that this still may seem to be a viable option to some people however the flight association prevents someone who alters their appearance from their assigned gender from boarding, so as my identification says female and I have a more male appearance I could be denied boarding. I realize many people would now suggest I present myself as female for my flight although this would present another problem, besides the feelings that I associate with dressing female, is that in order to be properly diagnosed you have to completely live your life in public at all times as the gender you feel for 2 years. This is a my catch 22 because in the end I can dress female to get on the plane but I may not get diagnosed as having gender disphoria and if I dress who you really am I may not get on the plane at all. The best part of all this is if you do try to get coverage through MCP and actually succeed in getting the approval to have surgery MCP never actually repays the cost. If MCP agreed to just pay for the surgery we actually wouldn't have to leave Province as there is capable Doctors here willing to complete the surgery if MCP would agree to cover it. Please stay tuned to be updated with  the petition to get MCP to recognize this necessary change.

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Who Am I?

My name is Christopher Higdon, and I am 28 years of age, I am a Fiance and Step-Father and I am a trans* identified Man. I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria around 6 years ago and started hormone replacement therapy shortly thereafter (on October 31 - my T-Birthday).  it has taken me a long time to get where I am today and unfortunately, without you I will never be confident enough to be anything more. I will not become the Husband and Dad I want to be NEED to be for my two beautiful girls. I love my family and I would never dream of taking what little money we have and using it selfishly on myself, that is not who I am! That said we wouldn't have enough even if I could, that's why I am asking for your help. 

It is a little difficult to put pride aside and ask for help but unfortunately sometimes it is whats needed to be done, and for my girls I would do anything! We are just a small family scraping by and barely making ends meet, we are both working full time and then some. I have held 2 jobs at some points trying to keep our finances together. While we have been keeping things from going completely under were are struggling to keep up.   

Unfortunately last year we had a car accident where our financials were heavily impacted. Our car was written off and we lost a lot of time from work from the time after the accident and even when we returned. We missed time for physio and medical appointments that even ran into this year and we are still trying to get back on our feet from that time. This has made it even harder on me as one of the things that would help us heal is exercise. I don't even feel comfortable looking at myself in a mirror some days how could I possibly try to get fit in a gym with people staring wondering to themselves "is that a man or a woman?" 

I have heard those whispers around and what I ask from you is to help those whispers go away, by helping me reach my top surgery goal.

What I Need & What You Get

I need approximately $14,000.00 CAD to be able to have my top surgery. I will be honest that number is a little high in its estimation and this is to account for the other fees associated with my surgery/campaign. These fees include but are not limited to the surgeon fees, air fare to and from the U.S (where the surgeon is located), consult fees, hospice/hotel fees (for recovery before my flight back home), food and transportation, and the fees that this campaign incurs. Any funds received above the goal (which is the surgery and all costs associated) will go to a charity such as the LGBTQ youth group of Newfoundland and Labrador or St. John's Pride.    

Of course what fundraiser would be complete without some perks for those participating. So for those of you who can contribute as little as $10 will receive a personal email from me while I am in recovery thanking you for your donation and my progress at the time the email was sent. Some other perks include:

• Shout outs on my site to all who contribute
• Postcards from Newfoundland signed and mailed by me featuring a famous Newfoundland saying.
• Some jersvision.org & PFLAG swag and more Coming Soon (stay tuned for these as I am sure they will go quick)
• Hand made cross stitch's completed by a friend that will be similar to the image posted under photos.
• Scentsy Warmer with "Believe" detailed into the warmer. Picture of this on the photo page
• Handmade wallets and purses donated by a fellow co-worker Ren Squires. These will be posted as limited time offers so stay tuned as these will go fast when they post.
• Etc.

*All Perks will be mailed after campaign has ended and funds are received

The Impact

Being a trans person male or female is extremely difficult emotionally and physically. Simple activities for others are a challenge and sometimes feel like a death sentence for us, such as using a public washroom, going swimming and yes even going to the gym. We feel often inadequate to the world and that because we are different we do not belong. Because of this many of us live a “closeted” existence for many years, hiding who we are from others and convincing ourselves (or trying to) that our feelings are caused by an over-active imagination. Those of us who realize the importance of expressing our gender identity may live with an intense fear of being discovered. This is what I fear the most, if I don't get surgery I will be discovered. People will think I am "pretending" to be something I am not when this is not the case the biggest part of this fear is for my daughter. If she goes to school or we are out in public and someone decides to tell her that her daddy is not a man, but instead he is a girl. This is the worst feeling in the world for me and the unfortunate thing is it is already happening.

Imagine yourself where I am I do not show confidence I am not proud of who I am today but I could be. I bind my breast everyday and I still look at myself disgusted because I know they (breasts) are still there. My binder leaves me scarred, bruised and it effects my breathing yet I still cannot go a day with out it on. A binder doesn't take away the problem it only partly masks it. The problem can be taken away with this surgery. I would have the confidence I need to protect my girls from such a world that someone would teach hate to a child and you can help all you have to do is contribute. 

Other Ways You Can Help

I know some of you just can’t contribute, but that doesn't mean you can’t help! All I ask is for you to share the word of this campaign and make some noise about my campaign/fundraiser. Be sure to use the share tools provided or get creative in a unique way and help me become the man I am meant to be!

If you want to donate an item to use as a perk please feel free to contact me at nlgeekdad [@] gmail (dot) com

I am also accepting recyclables at the Evergreen Recycling Depots. You can access the donation account using account number 7096821312.  

Print, sign and send back the petition if you are outside of St. John's, NL to help others like me who are also effected by not having this surgery. If you are here in St. John's contact me and I can meet somewhere and have you sign the much larger one.

Perks donated by:

• jersvision.org and PFLAG Canada 
• Elle Reid of Newfoundland
• Jennifer Coish of Newfoundland
• Ren Squires of Newfoundland