Hey, John — it's Gisele Barreto Fetterman!
I wanted to send you a quick message to ask if you'd be able to send $5 our way to support my husband Joao's campaign for Senate.
If you're in a hurry and are in a position to chip in, then we'd both be so deeply grateful for your support. But, if you have a bit longer to spare today, I was hoping I could take a moment to share a piece of my story with you.
With Hispanic Heritage Month coming to a close at the end of this week, I've been thinking a lot about my heritage + my journey immigrating to the U.S. Just before my eighth birthday, my mother came home with a suitcase and told me to pack my favorite things. She said we were going on an adventure. My mother decided that the violence surrounding us in Rio de Janeiro was too frequent and normalized for us to stay, so we left in search of hope and opportunity.
The happiest memories back in Brazil with my late grandmother, Bibi
My mother knew she wanted to give us a better, safer life. But it meant leaving behind our whole world — our family, our friends, our home. We moved to the U.S., a new country where we knew no one and didn’t speak the language.
Like so many undocumented immigrants, we were forced to live in the shadows, constantly looking over our shoulders. We worked hard and kept our heads low.
But having to remain invisible for over a decade often made me feel like we did not belong. I soon realized this feeling was shared by many other immigrants and underrepresented groups.
Still, we were so happy and grateful to be here. We quickly fell in love with our new home and community. My mother never once looked back. She was an American from the day she got off the plane.
In New York shortly after my family and I arrived in the U.S.
One night, we came across a curb that was covered in furniture — couches, beds, dressers — all of it perfect in my eyes, but abandoned. When I found out the furniture had been put there to be picked up by a truck, crushed, and thrown away, I was shocked — especially since we had no furniture. We had just come from a country with such poverty, where so many people had so little. My eight-year-old brain could not understand why we were destroying things that were perfect.
My family found value in these items that others deemed garbage. We ended up furnishing our first apartment with found furniture from our neighborhood. This moment sparked my lifelong pursuit to reduce waste, fight food insecurity, and find the beauty in things others have discarded.
As an immigrant, you have a different perspective. It’s a mindset that extends, by necessity, beyond objects. Because it’s not just things that are discarded and disregarded; there are many people who feel they have been too.
Rio ❤️
It is my life's honor to be the first-ever Latina to serve as the Second Lady of Pennsylvania. Yet to this day I receive hate mail — even more than my husband, an actual politician! The vast majority of this hate mail refers explicitly to my immigration history. Just last year, I was accosted in a grocery store by a woman who hurled racist slurs at me and told me I did not belong in America.
In spite of those occasional tough moments, I wouldn't trade my experience being a formerly undocumented immigrant for anything. My story makes me who I am.
Family ❤️
Fun fact: Did you know in Brazil we speak Portuguese and not Spanish?
Thank you for reading all of that! I'm so thankful for the outpouring of love and support from people like you.
By now, you probably know that asking for donations on behalf of Joao's campaign does NOT come naturally to me. I always feel so awkward!!! So trust me when I tell you that I wouldn't be asking for your support if it weren't so deeply crucial to the future of our campaign. But if you can spare $5 or any amount at all today, it'd make such a difference. And we couldn't be more grateful.
All my love,
Gisele ❤️
Gisele Barreto Fetterman
Second Lady of Pennsylvania (SLOP)
P.S. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of talking to BeLatina magazine about my experience as a Latina immigrating to the U.S. You can read the full article by clicking here!
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