Thread by @InsideEdition

#PRIDE2020 THREAD
This 99-year-old trans WWII vet is raising $1M to grant LGBTQ seniors’ wishes. – @kaelynforde
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1/ Robina Asti has led an extraordinary life: she flew planes with the Navy during World War II, managed a major mutual fund in New York City and, at 99 years old, still serves as a flight instructor.
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2/ “Being 99 is just a number. It's a number that means 100 years ago, in 1921, some little jerk was born. And that's me.” – Robina Asti, founder @CloudDancersOrg
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3/ “I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is see out the window that it's daylight, and I think, 'Hey, I survived the night. Isn't that great? I got a day to look forward to.” – Robina Asti, founder @CloudDancersOrg
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4/ Asti transitioned in 1976 and has become a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights in her later years. She married the love of her life, artist Norwood Patton, in an old airplane hangar in 2004. The pair had been together for decades before they tied the knot. 
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5/ But when it came time to apply for widow benefits from the Social Security Administration after Patton's death in 2012, Asti was denied because the agency said she was "legally male" at the time of their marriage. 
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6/ Asti fought back, and won. After leading a relatively quiet life, that battle led her to speak out and join forces with the advocacy nonprofit that helped her, @LambdaLegal. Since then, she's worked on a variety of causes, including with LGBTQ+ youth. 
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7/ But as remarkable as she is, Asti also knows what it's like to feel invisible, even in the Upper East Side neighborhood she has called home since 1965. 
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8/ "As an old person in New York City, I realize how invisible I am. The acknowledgement of me as me is lost. Nobody cares. I have a feeling of not being seen, and it's very hard to take." – Robina Asti, founder @CloudDancersOrg
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9/ That's partly why, as her legacy, she's created @CloudDancersOrg to help grant wishes to LGBTQ people as they age. The name comes from World War I pilots and Asti's own love of flying.
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10/ Asti is hoping to raise $1M to grant wishes for people, especially seniors, who have faced discrimination because of their gender identity or sexual orientation: charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/…

For @kaelynforde’s full story 99-Year-Old Trans Woman Works to Raise $1 Million to Grant LGBTQ Seniors' Wishes: ietv.co/2BQtTQ1 #Pride #Pride2020