Hi everyone. My name is Carol and I’m raising funds to assist with some urgent finances while I continue my job search, which has been taking a long time. I’ve been experiencing a lot of financial struggles after my dad (in the photo) died. He was a Vietnam Veteran with the 101st Airborne and passed away from a heart attack in June 2023. During October 2024, I ran into a number of problems; power was shut off at my apartment even though I was on a small payment plan that started a few months earlier without any missed. My account had gone from one collection agency to a 2nd one, which wanted $480 to restore power (and this bill was from the house I moved out of in mid-January 2024). Although I had a part-time office assistant job, it wasn’t enough on its own and before my power came back, my job ended. This was only due to seasonal changes that impacted the company’s industry (landscaping) and in turn, the amount of office work for me to do. I was constantly short on money, especially after having to pay the $480 and my food stamps had to be renews by October, yet there were technical problems getting that resolved. So, I had difficulties buying food, basic non-food household items and gas from the end of October and on. I couldn’t even get out to food banks because my car’s tank was often so low that I doubted I’d be able to make it to the nearest Wawa and back. This was the case while my phone service was disconnected in early January. So, I had to walk to a friend’s apartment at a complex down the road from mine to let them know what happened.

In mid-November, I found a job that involved online presentations but unfortunately, the week after training, my internet / cable was disconnected. So, I couldn’t start doing presentations. I also was only able to pay part of my rent for that month. Throughout December, I only managed to schedule a few presentations and was constantly on the phone dealing with bills and online searching for jobs to apply to that didn’t require online work. Earlier in January, I lost my phone service and for the 2nd time, my internet. I still was not caught up on my rent and eventually was evicted on Feb. 8. As of getting evicted, I’m behind in rent by around $7,000 ($580 from November, plus the total rent payment from December to February and late fees added on). Now, I’m living with extended family. There’s plenty of food here. However, I still owe on all of my bills from before and I’m hoping that a new job will come along soon to starting paying those (or their collection agencies, as most have gone to that stage). My extended family won’t be able to help with that debt, which is over $40,000.

What I’m most immediately concerned about is paying my storage unit bill. I have a storage unit because of needing to start moving my belongings out of the apartment as quickly as possible. However, I have no money and my bank total is $517 in the negative. Most of my belongings are in storage because there isn’t enough room here and after losing so much (my mom in 2018, my dad in 2023, then my apartment after 1 year…and before I was done moving from the house to the apartment, someone broke in and stole items that I had ready to move), I’ve been worried about losing everything in storage due to payment problems. The next payment is due April 1, for $150 and I don’t have it. If I got a new job soon enough, I would have to get a 1st paycheck no later than April 4 and let someone at the storage company know as soon as getting hired that I will have the money, but it will be a few days late…but that’s if I get hired and start working March 25. Otherwise, I will likely lose everything in storage. So, I’m trying this fundraiser, at least to help with one or more payments for my storage unit. It might also go toward moving things to a more local storage unit and renting a U-Haul.

Stored items include: Parents’ wedding photos, my dad’s Vietnam Veteran items and photos he took while serving in the military, general family photos on both sides going back to my great grandparents, mom’s ancestry research, my school items and photos of friends, photos of pets over the years. There’s items of various interests of my parents and I (WWII and Vietnam history, Outer Banks, lighthouses, classic movies, classic cars). There’s too many irreplaceable items and I’m afraid of everything being lost.

I also can’t afford my Rx and had to skip picking up a new inhaler and blood pressure medicine until I get medical insurance. Unfortunately, government coverage requires paystubs from the last 3 months and I don’t have any paystubs. So, I will have to pay out of pocket for Rx for a while. That’s another expense that any fundraising money will go toward. I have other Rx as well…metformin for type 2 Diabetes and I need a new testing kit and Montelukast for allergies.

My move here was on a fast deadline and with limited room, I only brought a tote bag full of my most frequently worn clothes. I also only have a pair of sneakers with me. I don’t have money for professional attire / shoes for interviewing and when hired. I had a few interviews that I was driven to, but was dressed too casually in the same outfit each time (black leggings, a pink top with maroon leaf-life pattern and the sneakers).

After driving to my new location, my car now has major problems (might be the transmission) and I can’t get anything resolved with it. I have no idea when I’ll be able to drive it again or if it’s a lost cause (2000 Camaro), it was the first car in my name and I don’t want to part with it. Unfortunately, of course, I won’t get approved for a loan for anything else. If things turn around with my job search, I’d love to get my car restored for car shows and have it covered under classic car insurance. In that case, I would need another car to be my main transportation because classic car insurance won’t cover a car that’s used daily. So, hopefully things turn around for such goals. It’s just that my overall transportation issue is not helping my job search. Depending on how much I raise, some funds can go toward priority repairs to get my car back on the road for now.

Thank you for any help through donations and sharing; it’s greatly appreciated!

Carol