<div>Hello! My name is Robin (she/they) and I’m a long-time community organizer in Northern California. But I wasn’t always known as Robin. In late 2024 I found myself beneath layers of coping mechanisms that could no longer bear the weight of growing gender dysphoria and came out as trans.
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<div><strong>I’m fundraising for my gender affirming care and gender confirmation surgery.</strong>
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<div>The last year and a half have been a wild journey of self-discovery and self-work. Countless medical appointments, misadventures in dialing in my HRT, learning how to navigate transphobia and misogyny…
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<div>… it’s been a lot. And it has been extremely costly, even with the right health insurance. Back in January, I got some great news: my gender affirming surgery was officially scheduled for October 8th, 2026!
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<div>But now everything is in question. I’ve been struggling to find work since November 2025 and now my partner is also out of work — in an extremely challenging job market.
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<div>Even just <strong>maintaining the specific health insurance</strong> plan that will keep this surgery even imaginable <strong>will cost $6,079 to maintain for the rest of the year.</strong> Then there are all the other expenses!
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<div><strong>Over the last three decades I’ve poured myself into local and global communities</strong>, through volunteerism and countless donations to make the world safer and more colorful. I’ve even run a fundraiser like this for a dear friend of mine.
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<div><strong>Now I have to ask y'all to come together to support me. </strong>
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<div>Each successive day on this journey brings me closer to who I was always meant to be, and my surgery will mark a huge step forward. I’m growing ever more excited, but also nervous given our material circumstances.
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<div><strong>You can help. </strong>Donate so I can live out the remainder of my one wild and precious life as my authentic self! No contribution is too small. Even sharing my fundraiser is greatly appreciated.
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<div>I hope to raise $17,000 in the fullness of time, but have set a more modest goal to get started.
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<div>Along the way, I'll be sharing little bits and pieces of my journey, from whimsy and joy to difficulty and messiness, in the hopes of building more understanding of how involved transition can be, and, yes, to keep this fundraiser moving.
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<div>Thank you for showing up for me. I won't forget it.
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<div>Yours,
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<div>Robin
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<div>PS. Because I was appointed by Petaluma City Council to be their Commissioner for the Sonoma County Library, I am subject to the rules of California’s <a href="https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/tad/fact_sheets/gifts_travel/local_gift_fact_sheet_final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fair Political Practices Commission</a> . For most donors, your donations are covered by an exception under “Acts of Human Compassion” given the fundraiser’s purpose and my circumstances.
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<div>If you have entered into ANY formal relationships involving the Sonoma County Library, as defined by <a href="https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_09.5/18942._Exceptions_to_Gift_and_Exceptions_to_Gift_Limits.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California FPPC Regulation 18942 (a)(18)(D)</a> (such as employment, transactional, or lobbying relationships), specific FPPC limits will apply to your donation, which I must report in my public disclosure filings. If you still wish to donate, I urge you to reach out to me before donating to make sure we get this right.
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Becoming Robin: donate for gender affirming care and surgery

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