<div>Hey family,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ve never been good at asking for help. But pride won’t keep the lights on and shame doesn’t pay the landlord. So here I am, palms up, telling the truth.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The Situation
</div>
<div>I’m waiting on my disability benefits. The paperwork’s stamped, the doctors signed off, but the government clock ticks slow while real life bills pile fast. Rent. Power. Prescriptions. Groceries. They’re all past due or hanging by a thread.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Total gap to keep my head above water: $5,000.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That number isn’t random. It’s the exact math of the next two months of survival:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Bill	Amount	Note
</div>
<div>Rent (2 months)	$2,000	Keeps a roof over me and my daughter
</div>
<div>Utilities &amp; Internet	$600	Lights, heat, and the line I write on
</div>
<div>Groceries	$800	Basics. Nothing fancy.
</div>
<div>Medical co-pays &amp; meds	$700	Pain management &amp; seizure control
</div>
<div>Gas / transportation	$300	Appointments &amp; Mia’s school runs
</div>
<div>Cushion for late fees / surprises	$600	Because life never shows up on time
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m not asking for a new car or a vacation. I’m asking for breathing room—so when the disability check finally lands, I’m not already drowning.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Why It Matters
</div>
<div>You’ve read my stuff on Substack—Quiet Hero Chronicles, SHARDS. You know the deal: addiction, prison, fatherhood, redemption. I clawed out of that hole. Built a life worth protecting. And now a busted spine and neuropathy have me benched.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Writing is what keeps me sane—and what keeps other folks seen. If I’m busy fighting shut-off notices, there’s no ink left for the stories that save us. Your help doesn’t just keep my lights on; it keeps the words flowing for everyone who leans on them.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Where Your Money Goes
</div>
<div>Bills get paid the day funds clear.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Receipts posted in campaign updates. Total transparency.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Any leftover pennies roll straight to the next month’s rent if the disability decision drags.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>What You Get
</div>
<div>I can’t promise fancy perks, but I can promise truth:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A public thank-you on my Substack (unless you’d rather stay silent).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A private update every Friday until the disability hits—wins, losses, numbers.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A brand-new essay, “Grace on Credit,” emailed exclusively to donors once we hit the goal
</div>

Chanda Felleti

Joshua Hain

Catherine Klobucar

Kim Ayoub

Beata Navarro

Christiana Huntzinger

Jenna Bollman

Anonymous

$5k to Breathe — Holding the line until SSDI approval

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

$5k to Breathe — Holding the line until SSDI approval

Still $1,402 to go. Help us build momentum.