The Story
The 7000 People Project is an interactive social exploration of self. How do we define ourselves? What do we use to define our "self" and who would we be if all these things were taken away?
Rae is a 25-year-old transgender individual. He (formerly she) is a full time barista by day and artist/writer/LGBTQ activist by night. He is hardworking, but simply cannot afford The $7000 double masctectoy/chest masculinzation surgery that would finally bring a peaceful union of his mental identity with his physical self. Being that the economy is in turmoil, he figures nobody else can afford to help him all that much, either.
Hence the 7000 People Project was invented. Sense of identity and self is a question that all humans struggle with. It is a question that philosophers and scientists and many great minds have been writing and theorizing about since the dawn of time. Rae's idea is to use his chest surgery fundraiser to relate his journey of self-realization and transition to the path every human must take in the process of actualizing their own sense of humanity.
The Impact
From Rae: If you donate to my project, you will change my life forever. Chest surgery for me means absolute freedom. Freedom from anxiety over my body image, freedom to exist in the world as the person I see myself as in my mind, freedom to exert my wasted energy on things that matter, freedom from the back pain and skin sensitivity that is caused by the restrictive binding tank top that I wear underneath my clothes. The freedom to exist in my own skin, happy and carelessly. I cannot do this alone. I know some folks are stubborn when it comes to asking for help, but I believe it takes a village to raise a person, and I am relying on the village of humanity - as far as I can reach - to help raise me into the beautiful person I so long to physically become.
You will also have the opportunity to explore your own self and share that with the community that I will be building online via the website, Facebook and Twitter. Conversations will be started, ideas exchanged, humanity pushed a step forward and deeper. The possibilities are endless and so exciting!
Also, if this first run of the project is successful, this may turn into a non-profit organization to help other transgender individuals cover their surgery costs. Transgender surgeries are thousands of dollars and almost no insurance companies cover it. Almost every transgender person must pay out of pocket for their surgery and time missed from work - and that is very hard to do in today's economy.
What is of Need & What You Receive in Return
I only ask that you donate $1. The 7000 People Project is relying on the consistency of the 7 degrees of separation, $1 at a time, to raise the money for the project. You can donate more if you wish, but each donation, little or small, will be equally appreciated.
I also ask that you contribute your thoughts and ideas to the ongoing social exploration of self online. Connect via our website (7000peopleproject.org), Facebook (Facebook.com/7000peopleproject) and Twitter (@7000pplproject) to help push forward ideas of what it means to "be."
You lose a little - just one dollar - but I hope you gain a lot by using this as an opportunity to dig deeper into who you really are.
Other Ways You Can Help
Sharing is caring! This project is testing the 7 degrees of separation x 1,000, so that means the project has to reach 7,0000 individuals. The only way for that to happen is to get the word out. Send an email, encourage folks to check us out on Facebook, share us on FB and Twitter. Please just spread the word any way you can!
Businessy, Fine Printy Kinda Stuff
The project will continue until all the funds are raised for my surgery. I've already raised about $500, and my surgeon has given me a $2,000 discount. Currently my surgery cost, including healing time without work, is $5,500. My initial idea was to raise $7,000 over 7 months, so I am doing the first phase of my project at $4,000 over 4 months (IndieGoGo only lets you run a fundraising campaign for 4 months). I will begin another campaign to raise the additional $1,500 when this phase is over. I am keeping the name and "brand" of The 7000 People Project because I am hoping to turn the project into a non-profit to help other transmen raise money for their chest surgeries, and chest surgeries are average $7,000.Also please note about Paypal! I have not legally changed my name yet (a process I am planning to start after the New Year) and my Paypal account is under my legal birth name, Raeann. If you have questions you can email me at 7000pplproject [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also find my contact information and FAQ about my fundraiser on my website, 7000PeopleProject.org
