Need a Little Help Pushing Through
Donation protected
Our Situation and Goal
Thanks for stopping by! As much as we hate to ask for help--and we know there are many people out there in greater need--we are in crisis mode and need to raise funds within the next 10 to 15 days in order to stay in our home. Rather than ask one or two people for a sizable loan (if we even knew someone with that ability well enough to ask) we decided to try crowd funding in the hope that enough people would be able (and willing) to donate a small amount to help us reach our goal. We have determined that $4,000 would get us through this emergency until I receive the first paycheck from my new job, but any amount will help at this point.
How Did We Get Here?
Prior to 2010 we were a rather typical family: a two-income household with three daughters ranging in ages from 8 to 14 (each great students and involved in extracurricular music and sports activities), living modestly within our means, but without much saved away for an emergency.
I was employed with a small structural engineering firm that was sold to a slightly larger firm in late 2008 to complete their portfolio of design services. The local design and construction market had been in decline since early 2008, but my boss told me he sold his firm in the interest of keeping the other engineer in the firm and me employed during those lean times. By mid-2009 I was transitioned to part-time status (unbeknownst to my former boss until he commented that I seemed to be coming in to work later than usual). I, along with several other architects and engineers, was then laid off in January of 2010. The local design and construction market is still sluggish today, with very few employment additions since 2010.
So... I have spent the past five years in positions related to construction and design but not quite on my intended career path. I spent nine months managing a small team of interior designers for a struggling office supplies and furniture dealer (the company is no longer in business), I taught construction design and management courses at Parkland College for one academic year (the position was a temporary appointment), and most recently I was a project manager for a local internet and video services provider. In total I have been unemployed 32 of the past 66 months.
During each of the periods of unemployment we were able to survive on my husband's income plus my unemployment benefits by cutting out all unnecessary expenses. We even downsized to a small rental house three years ago--after I had been very deliberate to ensure that we bought a house we could afford (prior to 2008), even though we were told by lenders that we qualified for a much higher loan. However, with the end of the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in December of 2013, I have not received any unemployment benefits since the State of Illinois benefits ended for me in May of this year. (As a point of reference, if I had been able to receive the Federal Emergency Unemployment benefits since mid-May they would have accounted for an additional $6,500 in income for us, up to this point.) My husband has been picking up as much overtime as he can, but his income alone is not enough to pay our basic living expenses.
We thought our troubles would be over when I had three interviews earlier this summer for a project management position that seemed perfect for my unique combination of skills and work experience. Unfortunately, in the end they chose the other finalist. So, I continued my quest for work...
Shifting gears a bit, for several years I have been pondering the idea of making a career switch to teaching. My mother is a teacher (she taught biology and anatomy/physiology for over 30 years in the local school district and has taught part time at Parkland College since her retirement from the school district 15 years ago), so I guess it is in my blood. Growing up I never considered teaching as a career, and I was encouraged in high school to pursue engineering because of my strong abilities in math and science. Although I still really enjoy structural engineering I have been feeling pulled toward teaching as perhaps a more personally rewarding use of my talent and skills. So, I decided to apply for a substitute teaching position with the local school district. This would give me the opportunity to find out if I would like being in a classroom. (Even though I know the classroom experience is quite different for a substitute teacher, I figure I can spend some time talking to the regular classroom teachers to learn more about the pros and cons of teaching in the current public education climate.) Being a substitute teacher would also give me the flexibility to take on part-time contract work if available.
So, here we are in our current predicament: We have fallen behind on our rent and utility payments since my unemployment benefits stopped. Although we are behind in the utilities, each company has been willing to work with us (for now). However, our landlord is not so willing to work with us. I understand his predicament, as he has expenses that can not go unpaid. Earlier this week he proposed that we voluntarily move out to avoid formal eviction proceedings. Unfortunately, we do not have the money to move anywhere else at this point (security deposit plus first month's rent, moving expenses, lost wages for my husand to take time off work to get us moved), and with our daughters starting school next week our lives would be in a turmoil. I told the landlord about the substitute teaching position and how we would have additional income in about four weeks, and that we would continue to give him as much as we can from my husband's bi-weekly paychecks (which we have been doing), but he is not budging.
Prior to this ultimatum by the landlord I had already researched possible sources of emergency help. My husband's income is just high enough to disqualify us from all government assistance programs. (We don't even qualify for reduced-price school lunches, so I had to pay the $160 school registration fee for my two still-school-aged daughters last week--money we really did not have.) There is an organization locally that provides emergency rental assistance for families that do not qualify for government programs, but their phone line has been answered by a voice message, indicating that no funds are available, for at least the past three months (I have called every week). We have asked family for assistance and have received a little help from those who were able, and we depleted our modest savings long ago.
So here we are. We are hoping that this crowd-funding campaign can enable us to pay our landlord the past due amount that we owe him so we can stay in our current home and to help us get through the next four to six weeks of basic household expenses until I receive my first paycheck from the substitute teaching position.
Thank you for reading our story, and if you are able to contribute even a small amount toward our goal please know that we greatly appreciate it, and please read the next section, as we would like to pay your contribution forward when we are back on our feet. And if you are not able to contribute (which we completely understand in these tough times) please read the Other Ways You Can Help section, as there may be another way you can help us.
Paying It Forward
We strongly believe in Paying It Forward. Once we are past this hurdle and back on our feet we would like to donate an amount equal to the funds we receive from this campaign to various charitable organizations. If you choose to make a contribution to this campaign please indicate your preferred charity in the message section of the contribution window, and we will donate an amount equal to your contribution to that charity when we are able to do so.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know that a lot of people are struggling to get by and may not be in a position to help us financially. However, there may be another way that you could help. Here are three possible ways that we have thought of, but if you have any other ideas or suggestions please let us know in the comments. Thanks.
- Perhaps you know of someone who is hiring or looking for full- or part-time contract help. Here is a short list of my skills: structural design, structural drafting, project management, editing/proofreading, teaching/training/tutoring, database design and management (Microsoft Access), bookkeeping/finance tasks. I can also perform most of these work activities remotely, so it does not necessarily need to be limited to the Champaign, Illinois area. If you know of a possible opportunity, please send me the contact information by private message.
- Perhaps you are familiar with an organization that might have the means to help us. If so please private message me the details or provide them in the comments area (if appropriate).
- Perhaps you know of someone else who might have the means and willingness to help us get through this situation. If so, please share the link to this campaign with that person.
-
Thanks for stopping by! As much as we hate to ask for help--and we know there are many people out there in greater need--we are in crisis mode and need to raise funds within the next 10 to 15 days in order to stay in our home. Rather than ask one or two people for a sizable loan (if we even knew someone with that ability well enough to ask) we decided to try crowd funding in the hope that enough people would be able (and willing) to donate a small amount to help us reach our goal. We have determined that $4,000 would get us through this emergency until I receive the first paycheck from my new job, but any amount will help at this point.
How Did We Get Here?
Prior to 2010 we were a rather typical family: a two-income household with three daughters ranging in ages from 8 to 14 (each great students and involved in extracurricular music and sports activities), living modestly within our means, but without much saved away for an emergency.
I was employed with a small structural engineering firm that was sold to a slightly larger firm in late 2008 to complete their portfolio of design services. The local design and construction market had been in decline since early 2008, but my boss told me he sold his firm in the interest of keeping the other engineer in the firm and me employed during those lean times. By mid-2009 I was transitioned to part-time status (unbeknownst to my former boss until he commented that I seemed to be coming in to work later than usual). I, along with several other architects and engineers, was then laid off in January of 2010. The local design and construction market is still sluggish today, with very few employment additions since 2010.
So... I have spent the past five years in positions related to construction and design but not quite on my intended career path. I spent nine months managing a small team of interior designers for a struggling office supplies and furniture dealer (the company is no longer in business), I taught construction design and management courses at Parkland College for one academic year (the position was a temporary appointment), and most recently I was a project manager for a local internet and video services provider. In total I have been unemployed 32 of the past 66 months.
During each of the periods of unemployment we were able to survive on my husband's income plus my unemployment benefits by cutting out all unnecessary expenses. We even downsized to a small rental house three years ago--after I had been very deliberate to ensure that we bought a house we could afford (prior to 2008), even though we were told by lenders that we qualified for a much higher loan. However, with the end of the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in December of 2013, I have not received any unemployment benefits since the State of Illinois benefits ended for me in May of this year. (As a point of reference, if I had been able to receive the Federal Emergency Unemployment benefits since mid-May they would have accounted for an additional $6,500 in income for us, up to this point.) My husband has been picking up as much overtime as he can, but his income alone is not enough to pay our basic living expenses.
We thought our troubles would be over when I had three interviews earlier this summer for a project management position that seemed perfect for my unique combination of skills and work experience. Unfortunately, in the end they chose the other finalist. So, I continued my quest for work...
Shifting gears a bit, for several years I have been pondering the idea of making a career switch to teaching. My mother is a teacher (she taught biology and anatomy/physiology for over 30 years in the local school district and has taught part time at Parkland College since her retirement from the school district 15 years ago), so I guess it is in my blood. Growing up I never considered teaching as a career, and I was encouraged in high school to pursue engineering because of my strong abilities in math and science. Although I still really enjoy structural engineering I have been feeling pulled toward teaching as perhaps a more personally rewarding use of my talent and skills. So, I decided to apply for a substitute teaching position with the local school district. This would give me the opportunity to find out if I would like being in a classroom. (Even though I know the classroom experience is quite different for a substitute teacher, I figure I can spend some time talking to the regular classroom teachers to learn more about the pros and cons of teaching in the current public education climate.) Being a substitute teacher would also give me the flexibility to take on part-time contract work if available.
So, here we are in our current predicament: We have fallen behind on our rent and utility payments since my unemployment benefits stopped. Although we are behind in the utilities, each company has been willing to work with us (for now). However, our landlord is not so willing to work with us. I understand his predicament, as he has expenses that can not go unpaid. Earlier this week he proposed that we voluntarily move out to avoid formal eviction proceedings. Unfortunately, we do not have the money to move anywhere else at this point (security deposit plus first month's rent, moving expenses, lost wages for my husand to take time off work to get us moved), and with our daughters starting school next week our lives would be in a turmoil. I told the landlord about the substitute teaching position and how we would have additional income in about four weeks, and that we would continue to give him as much as we can from my husband's bi-weekly paychecks (which we have been doing), but he is not budging.
Prior to this ultimatum by the landlord I had already researched possible sources of emergency help. My husband's income is just high enough to disqualify us from all government assistance programs. (We don't even qualify for reduced-price school lunches, so I had to pay the $160 school registration fee for my two still-school-aged daughters last week--money we really did not have.) There is an organization locally that provides emergency rental assistance for families that do not qualify for government programs, but their phone line has been answered by a voice message, indicating that no funds are available, for at least the past three months (I have called every week). We have asked family for assistance and have received a little help from those who were able, and we depleted our modest savings long ago.
So here we are. We are hoping that this crowd-funding campaign can enable us to pay our landlord the past due amount that we owe him so we can stay in our current home and to help us get through the next four to six weeks of basic household expenses until I receive my first paycheck from the substitute teaching position.
Thank you for reading our story, and if you are able to contribute even a small amount toward our goal please know that we greatly appreciate it, and please read the next section, as we would like to pay your contribution forward when we are back on our feet. And if you are not able to contribute (which we completely understand in these tough times) please read the Other Ways You Can Help section, as there may be another way you can help us.
Paying It Forward
We strongly believe in Paying It Forward. Once we are past this hurdle and back on our feet we would like to donate an amount equal to the funds we receive from this campaign to various charitable organizations. If you choose to make a contribution to this campaign please indicate your preferred charity in the message section of the contribution window, and we will donate an amount equal to your contribution to that charity when we are able to do so.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know that a lot of people are struggling to get by and may not be in a position to help us financially. However, there may be another way that you could help. Here are three possible ways that we have thought of, but if you have any other ideas or suggestions please let us know in the comments. Thanks.
- Perhaps you know of someone who is hiring or looking for full- or part-time contract help. Here is a short list of my skills: structural design, structural drafting, project management, editing/proofreading, teaching/training/tutoring, database design and management (Microsoft Access), bookkeeping/finance tasks. I can also perform most of these work activities remotely, so it does not necessarily need to be limited to the Champaign, Illinois area. If you know of a possible opportunity, please send me the contact information by private message.
- Perhaps you are familiar with an organization that might have the means to help us. If so please private message me the details or provide them in the comments area (if appropriate).
- Perhaps you know of someone else who might have the means and willingness to help us get through this situation. If so, please share the link to this campaign with that person.
-
Organizer
Melinda Wells
Organizer
Champaign, IL