Help Ethan & Elle Move to China [Updated]

Ethan Dashiell is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hello! My name is Ethan, I'm a trans guy currently living in the United States. I have a job offer for the fall, but I need your help making sure that I'm able to get there in the first place. Here's a little context:

I graduated with my teaching degree in 2022, and have been working at a community college for the past year. Since graduating, I have been applying to teaching jobs with no luck. Because of this, in March, I ended up accepting a job teaching art at a K-12 international school in China for the 24-25 school year, which is a very big and exciting opportunity for our family. Not only do I get to return to the classroom, but we will also be able to afford basic necessities and trans healthcare more easily because our cost of living will be lower overall.

I originally intended to leave my job at the community college in late May. But changes in my department resulted in being given a new caseload that was 3x the size of my previous one. I did my best to keep up despite the increasing workload and stress, but I was unable to continue after I started vomiting before work every morning. Since leaving the community college, I have applied to over 30 retail, instructional, and administrative positions in the local area to try and make up for that lost income in the short-term, but I have not been able to get hired.

This fundraiser was first created to help us cover some of our remaining bills after I quit my job, leading up to our move. We hoped that the money raised here, combined with some extra money that I was owed by my employer, would be enough to pay off our bills and cover our travel and moving fees. And while we have mostly met our bills, our timeline has shifted from our original plan and we still have some urgent costs to cover. As of this time, we still need to pay for the following:

$600 to notarize our TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificates through the issuing institution ($300 per person). These are extra credentials that will help increase the likelihood that our visa will be granted, and were requested by my employer. Unfortunately there is not a cheaper option because we do not live in the issuing state. We need to complete this process by the end of June.
$500 to cover the lease transfer fee at our apartment building. We also need to have this money by the end of June.
$750 to pay for our visa applications ($140 consular fee + $235 service fee per person). Unfortunately this is the cheapest option, as applications must be submitted in person to the consulate in San Francisco, so we have to pay an agency to do it. We need to have this by the end of July

We are basically staking everything on this move. We are using every last resource we have to make this happen. It is urgent for us to raise these funds because we do not have jobs, housing, or savings to fall back on if this falls through.

Any additional funds raised beyond the above will go toward paying for our groceries and meds in the lead-up to the move.

If you're able to share or donate to our campaign, even if it's just one dollar, you'll be doing us an enormous favor. Please help us make this move possible. It really would change everything for us.

Forever grateful,

Ethan & Eleanor <3

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