I am Alexis Robinson, and here is my story.

Hello friends. I am asking for help to raise funds to move and start over and create a new life and business that will give back. I need to move house very soon and am short of funds for deposits and moving expenses due to circumstances that have been entirely out of my control. I've done everything in my power to do everything right and made sacrifices that I haven't been able to regain.

I have always done my best to help and find ways to benefit those who didn't have enough for themselves through volunteering, working with and donating to charities, and giving my time to assist those who I knew would never be able to repay me. I believe we should help each other whenever we can, and I always have, even when I also haven't had much.

When my mother was injured with a broken hip, I was left alone, charged with being the sibling to care for her, as my brother didn't offer any help at all. I had very good work before this but, the responsibilities of caring for a disabled 81-year-old who was very fragile, both physically and emotionally, left me unable to leave the house for more than a few hours at a time and my very good job let me go, claiming that my reduced availability was "not in their culture." I was able to maintain for a while, falling back on the savings and then the credit I had worked so hard to build, but with little income, the savings continued to shrink while the debt increased. All the stability I had achieved in my life disappeared. Then, after months of agonizing pain, my mother succumbed by giving up and swallowing a bottle of painkillers, then begging me to let her go. She was unsuccessful, but when she got to the hospital, an X-ray revealed a tumor in her left lung, stage four lung cancer, and in six weeks, she was gone, two days before Thanksgiving. I was left alone and destitute to pick up the pieces.

A few weeks after my mom passed, I was able to return to full-time work, eager to make up the money I'd lost helping my mom. Over the next four months, I began to get back on my feet and start rebuilding my finances. Exhausted from the ordeal and still grieving, I did my best to reassemble my life. Then Covid hit. Because of the nature of my work as a massage therapist, my industry was hit very hard by the pandemic and lockdown, and the fear it put into people. I was out of work for five months, and when I returned, it was part-time. Nobody wanted a massage, then. In addition, I'd had a small business visiting clients at their homes, which also came to a grinding halt. To this day I am struggling to get this business back up and running.

After finally selling the family home and reaping no profit, I was able to get a winter rental, which I have to leave very soon. I have been looking for something affordable however, the current housing market has driven rental prices sky-high. I tried to go through Social Services, but affordable housing is impossible to find, and waiting lists are prohibitively long.

I gave up my whole life to care for my dying mother in her final days because she needed me, and it was the right thing to do. I did everything a person is supposed to do. I have paid it forward my whole life, caring for others, donating to countless charities, and funding campaigns. Even my work helps people. I am a helper, a healer, and a giver. Now I have to ask for help, something that is very difficult for me.

The last few years have been riddled with additional loss, as I had to put down my mom's dog and my cat, and several friends have lost their lives. I have also recently had skin cancer and a hit-and-run accident. It seems like I can't catch a break, but I remain optimistic, and hopeful that, with a bit of help, I will get where I need to be.

My goal amount is intended to cover the costs of moving and security deposits, as well as a few months' rent until I get on my feet. Anything extra, should it come, will go toward giving back.

So that I am not asking for something in exchange for nothing, here are the ways I intend to give back once I find my place:

-I am going to paint a meaningful painting depicting a visual image of my gratitude to all who have helped me, have prints made and send them to each person who contributed to my campaign.

-I will create a non-profit business to help others who have found themselves in my position, left with nothing after caring for a loved one until the loved one died.

-I will create a retail web-based business to educate people about sustainability and the products we can use to reduce plastic use. Proceeds from this business will be donated to ocean cleanup efforts and other environmental causes to leave a cleaner planet for future generations.

Helping me now is an investment in me and all I can do once I get to a secure place.

Dear friends, thank you in advance for any and all support. Every contribution means the world to me.

Love, Alexis