Hi Friend—Today is Giving Tuesday and World AIDS Day, the perfect day to support Immigration Equality, an organization that routinely saves the lives of LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants. They saved my life by helping me win asylum, and with your help, they can save countless more.  

Will you donate $10 today so I can reach my goal of raising $10K this week? For a limited time, a generous donor will be matching all gifts 100%.  

If you missed my message yesterday, here's what you need to know: I'm a trans man from Egypt, and I lived a closeted life for decades. I feared death if someone discovered my true gender identity.  

I escaped Egypt and won asylum with free legal representation from the Immigration Equality team. Today, I’m asking you to join me with a gift of $10 so we can raise $10K this week to save even more lives.  

With asylum, and now U.S. citizenship, I feel untouchable. All I want to do is give back. Thank you for your support. It means the world to me. 

—Omar  

P.S. Any gift, big or small, goes a long way to helping LGBTQ refugees like me!

From: Omar Hassan, Mon, Nov 30, 6:50 PM ET
WATCH: Why I feel blessed this Giving Tuesday

Dear Friend,  

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday—the single biggest fundraising day of the year for nonprofits. I’m sure this is just one of many emails you've received asking for donations (for many worthy causes), but I want to personally explain why raising $10,000 for Immigration Equality this week is so important to me.  

I'm a trans man from Egypt, and for decades I was living a closeted life. Hiding my true self felt like someone was crushing my bones. I couldn’t breathe until I came to the U.S. to seek asylum. I went to Immigration Equality for help—and not only did they win my asylum case, they helped me become a U.S. citizen. Now, I want to give back, and I’m asking you to join me. 

Create a Facebook fundraiser for Immigration Equality today with a goal of $250. If just 20 people join me, we’ll raise $5,000—and a generous donor will DOUBLE the amount! 

Watch my story, and you’ll understand why this cause is so important to me: 

I’m thankful for the team at Immigration Equality for sticking with me all these years. Every day, I’m reminded that it’s a blessing to look in the mirror and see my true self. To be able to express how I feel about someone without shame or fear.  

If we work together, we can help other LGBTQ and HIV-positive refugees breathe the same deep sigh of relief, safety, and belonging that I did. Please join me by creating a Facebook fundraiser for Immigration Equality today.

In the spirit of giving, 

Omar Hassan 
Immigration Equality 

P.S. Don’t have Facebook? You can donate directly here.