By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 18:19 EST, 27 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:28 EST, 27 February 2013 . A fraternity at a Boston, Massachusetts, college has raised almost $20,000 to pay for one of its brother's sex change surgery. The brothers of Emerson College's Phi Alpha Tau fraternity have pulled together donations worth more than $18,000, which will go towards sophomore pledge Donnie Collins' female to male gender transition surgery to remove his breasts. The 20-year-old initially thought his student health insurance would pay for the operation but after the company rejected his claim, his fraternity brothers rallied around to help. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Top surgery: A fraternity at a Boston, Massachusetts, college has raised $18,000 to pay for Donnie Collins' sex change surgery . 'I don't even know what to say because the words thank you just don't do it anymore,' Collins said in a video that he uploaded to YouTube on Monday. 'It's been an amazing experience, these last few weeks. My life has been absolutely changed by pledging this fraternity.' On February 9, the Phi Alpha Tau brothers launched a pledge campaign on crowd-funding website IndieGoGo. They set an initial goal of $4,800 and later nearly doubled it to $8,100 - the full cost of Collins' chest reconstruction. In little more than a week, $2,000 in . online donations had poured in, Collins said on his video. Yesterday, the campaign . hit $12,000, after the fundraising effort . was featured in local media, and another $6,000 came in to bring the total to more than $18,000 threshold today. Insurance rejection: Collins' brothers launched the campaign after his insurance company denied his claim for gender transition surgery . Good friends: Collins' said there were no words to describe his gratitude for his fraternity, pictured . The fraternity said they'll donate any extra money raised to the Jim Collins Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial aid for gender-confirming surgeries to 'help transgender people who need surgery to live a healthy life.' Collins told WHDH.com that it was 'a huge relief' when he came out as transgender at 17. 'I spent years suffering from gender . identity problems not knowing what was wrong,' he said. 'Coming out was a . huge relief to me. I knew right away that I wanted a name change, . hormone replacement treatment and I wanted top surgery.' Being a man in a woman's body didn't hinder his chances pledging the fraternity. 'Donnie's status as a trans student . was a non issue. It wasn't even an afterthought. We just thought he was . an outstanding man,' senior Tau Zaman told the news station. Huge relief: Collins, pictured left and right with his bottle of testosterone, says it was a huge relief when he came out as transgender at 17 . Emerson: The fraternity, Phi Alpha Tau, at Emerson College, pictured, in Boston, Mass., wanted to chin in and help their brother . 'Times are changing, if you feel like you don't belong because of something that's different about you, wait it out. It gets better. There are people out there who will love and value you for who you are. On the fraternity's IndieGoGo campaign page, the brothers wrote: 'We care deeply about each and everyone, and rely on the entire active brotherhood to stand behind any one individual when they are in need.' Collins' surgery is scheduled for May and will be an important step in his gender transition. 'You're the one that puts your head down on the pillow at night,' Collins told WHDH.com. 'You have to be able to look in the mirror at yourself every day for the rest of your life. So, make choices for you first and then other people second.' WATCH DONNIE'S YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE: .
The brothers of Emerson College's Phi Alpha Tau fraternity have raised more than $18,000 for sophomore pledge Donnie Collins too get female to male gender transition surgery .
The 20-year-old's insurance rejected his claim so his new pals decided to help out by launching the fundraising campaign on website IndieGoGo .
Collins is now booked in for top surgery - an operation to remove his breasts - in May .
By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 18:19 EST, 27 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:28 EST, 27 February 2013 . A fraternity at a Boston, Massachusetts, college has raised almost $20,000 to pay for one of its brother's sex change surgery. The brothers of Emerson College's Phi Alpha Tau fraternity have pulled together donations worth more than $18,000, which will go towards sophomore pledge Donnie Collins' female to male gender transition surgery to remove his breasts. The 20-year-old initially thought his student health insurance would pay for the operation but after the company rejected his claim, his fraternity brothers rallied around to help. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Top surgery: A fraternity at a Boston, Massachusetts, college has raised $18,000 to pay for Donnie Collins' sex change surgery . 'I don't even know what to say because the words thank you just don't do it anymore,' Collins said in a video that he uploaded to YouTube on Monday. 'It's been an amazing experience, these last few weeks. My life has been absolutely changed by pledging this fraternity.' On February 9, the Phi Alpha Tau brothers launched a pledge campaign on crowd-funding website IndieGoGo. They set an initial goal of $4,800 and later nearly doubled it to $8,100 - the full cost of Collins' chest reconstruction. In little more than a week, $2,000 in . online donations had poured in, Collins said on his video. Yesterday, the campaign . hit $12,000, after the fundraising effort . was featured in local media, and another $6,000 came in to bring the total to more than $18,000 threshold today. Insurance rejection: Collins' brothers launched the campaign after his insurance company denied his claim for gender transition surgery . Good friends: Collins' said there were no words to describe his gratitude for his fraternity, pictured . The fraternity said they'll donate any extra money raised to the Jim Collins Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial aid for gender-confirming surgeries to 'help transgender people who need surgery to live a healthy life.' Collins told WHDH.com that it was 'a huge relief' when he came out as transgender at 17. 'I spent years suffering from gender . identity problems not knowing what was wrong,' he said. 'Coming out was a . huge relief to me. I knew right away that I wanted a name change, . hormone replacement treatment and I wanted top surgery.' Being a man in a woman's body didn't hinder his chances pledging the fraternity. 'Donnie's status as a trans student . was a non issue. It wasn't even an afterthought. We just thought he was . an outstanding man,' senior Tau Zaman told the news station. Huge relief: Collins, pictured left and right with his bottle of testosterone, says it was a huge relief when he came out as transgender at 17 . Emerson: The fraternity, Phi Alpha Tau, at Emerson College, pictured, in Boston, Mass., wanted to chin in and help their brother . 'Times are changing, if you feel like you don't belong because of something that's different about you, wait it out. It gets better. There are people out there who will love and value you for who you are. On the fraternity's IndieGoGo campaign page, the brothers wrote: 'We care deeply about each and everyone, and rely on the entire active brotherhood to stand behind any one individual when they are in need.' Collins' surgery is scheduled for May and will be an important step in his gender transition. 'You're the one that puts your head down on the pillow at night,' Collins told WHDH.com. 'You have to be able to look in the mirror at yourself every day for the rest of your life. So, make choices for you first and then other people second.' WATCH DONNIE'S YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE: .
surgery. The brothers of Emerson College's Phi Alpha Tau fraternity have pulled together donations worth more than $18,000, which will go towards sophomore pledge Donnie Collins' female to male gender transition surgery to remove his operation but after the company rejected his crowd-funding website IndieGoGo. They set an campaign . hit $12,000, after the fundraising insurance company denied his claim for gender