Help for My Family
Donation protected
We need some help so that our electricity and water don't get shut off. Here's the deal.
What Happened: Our 2000 minivan finally died completely in April. That started a plummeting effect that has now resulted in us having nothing left to pay electric or water.
The electric/gas is $257 a month. We're on a pmt plan, so it's always that. Any extra gets added to what basically amounts to a loan principle, and if we use less than that the extra chips away at the principle and interest. We had been keeping up with it really well, but then our car died in April and we had to replace it. We had to go with an old 95 VW Jetta that was all we could find for under $700 (all we had). Since then it quit and we had to replace the starter ($560) a couple weeks ago, and today we payed $580 to get it from the shop after it died again and we had to replace the airflow sensor and clean the injectors. Marta just got paid by the school today, but that's her entire check plus the change she had in her purse.
Then a guy from the water dept came by an hour later to shut our water off. I called and talked them into waiting, but now we somehow also have to find $500 for them by the start of next month.
This was not a great day to run out of my anti-depressant meds.
My Wife: She is a Special Education Parapro. She gets to work before 8am and stays until 4pm. She works hard all day long to help kindergarteners get through their day. She is assigned to one little guy who has a lot of tough challenges, but they all rely on her, and they all love her. She comes home every day with art one or more of these little kids in their first year of school has made just for her. She rarely gets time for lunch. She rarely feels like she can afford lunch. They only pay her for 37.5 hours a week. No benefits. No pay for any holidays, or any time when school is closed. And they pay her less than $9 an hour. She has no cartilage on the inside of her knee joints, but she goes to work every day.
Me: I have fibromyalgia, and most of the common problems often found with it, including degenerative disc disease and extreme fatigue. On the tv commercial, when they say "Lyrica isn't for everyone", that's me. The medicines currently available react badly for me, and I can't take them. I never know when I'm going to have a bad day, how bad it's going to be, or how long it will last. There are often times when I can't grip a utensil or dish with enough force to wash it, when I can't lift my arms above my shoulders, when I can't walk for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Not just because of the pain, or tingling, or lack of feeling, but because at times the muscles just don't have enough power to do it. On a very good day, I might be able to walk for 30 minutes. On a bad day, I can't even sit upright for more than 30 minutes. All this combines to make me completely unreliable for the purposes of a job. It is extremely difficult to get disability for fibromyalgia, and I was unable to get disability this year for the 3rd time. I will keep trying.
Our daughter being super-happy on her 15th birthday this year, even though we had promised her since she was a tiny little girl that she would have the traditional quinceanera she dreamed of, and then couldn't give it to her.
Why The Amount Above? That's what my wife would make during the 3 months of summer vacation. It's not really enough, but I feel bad asking for more. In the highly unlikely event that this effort makes more than that, every bit will go toward electricity, water, internet service or car repairs. We have no credit cards, and haven't for over 15 years. We don't go out to eat. We go to the movies once a year, at Christmas, as a family. None of it will be frittered away, wasted, or spent on anything but necessities.
What Happened: Our 2000 minivan finally died completely in April. That started a plummeting effect that has now resulted in us having nothing left to pay electric or water.
The electric/gas is $257 a month. We're on a pmt plan, so it's always that. Any extra gets added to what basically amounts to a loan principle, and if we use less than that the extra chips away at the principle and interest. We had been keeping up with it really well, but then our car died in April and we had to replace it. We had to go with an old 95 VW Jetta that was all we could find for under $700 (all we had). Since then it quit and we had to replace the starter ($560) a couple weeks ago, and today we payed $580 to get it from the shop after it died again and we had to replace the airflow sensor and clean the injectors. Marta just got paid by the school today, but that's her entire check plus the change she had in her purse.
Then a guy from the water dept came by an hour later to shut our water off. I called and talked them into waiting, but now we somehow also have to find $500 for them by the start of next month.
This was not a great day to run out of my anti-depressant meds.
My Wife: She is a Special Education Parapro. She gets to work before 8am and stays until 4pm. She works hard all day long to help kindergarteners get through their day. She is assigned to one little guy who has a lot of tough challenges, but they all rely on her, and they all love her. She comes home every day with art one or more of these little kids in their first year of school has made just for her. She rarely gets time for lunch. She rarely feels like she can afford lunch. They only pay her for 37.5 hours a week. No benefits. No pay for any holidays, or any time when school is closed. And they pay her less than $9 an hour. She has no cartilage on the inside of her knee joints, but she goes to work every day.
Me: I have fibromyalgia, and most of the common problems often found with it, including degenerative disc disease and extreme fatigue. On the tv commercial, when they say "Lyrica isn't for everyone", that's me. The medicines currently available react badly for me, and I can't take them. I never know when I'm going to have a bad day, how bad it's going to be, or how long it will last. There are often times when I can't grip a utensil or dish with enough force to wash it, when I can't lift my arms above my shoulders, when I can't walk for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Not just because of the pain, or tingling, or lack of feeling, but because at times the muscles just don't have enough power to do it. On a very good day, I might be able to walk for 30 minutes. On a bad day, I can't even sit upright for more than 30 minutes. All this combines to make me completely unreliable for the purposes of a job. It is extremely difficult to get disability for fibromyalgia, and I was unable to get disability this year for the 3rd time. I will keep trying.
Our daughter being super-happy on her 15th birthday this year, even though we had promised her since she was a tiny little girl that she would have the traditional quinceanera she dreamed of, and then couldn't give it to her.
Why The Amount Above? That's what my wife would make during the 3 months of summer vacation. It's not really enough, but I feel bad asking for more. In the highly unlikely event that this effort makes more than that, every bit will go toward electricity, water, internet service or car repairs. We have no credit cards, and haven't for over 15 years. We don't go out to eat. We go to the movies once a year, at Christmas, as a family. None of it will be frittered away, wasted, or spent on anything but necessities.
Organizer
Michael Moscrip
Organizer
Canton Township, MI
Inspired to help? Start a fundraiser for someone you know
