Help us go to Aaron's graduation
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The Bottom Line: Our son, Aaron, is graduating from the Army National Guard Basic Training program at Ft. Sill Oklahoma on August 9th. Without some help, we won't be able to go. The funds raised from this campaign will be used to pay for gas, food and a hotel for our family, so we can support Aaron in his journey to become an officer in the US Army.
The Back Story: As it sometimes is, life has been difficult for our family for the past five years. In 2014 I lost my job as a regional sales manager. Since that time I have applied for dozens of sales jobs both in the tech industry (my background) and in other areas, but have been unable to find a salaried position.
In 2015 we sold our house to buy some time as I looked for a new source of income. About two years ago I completed the academic training to become a residential home appraiser and about a year ago I obtained my Realtor license. Since that time I have been working as an appraiser trainee under a certified appraiser here in Texas. During this same period, I have also worked as an Uber driver, run an ecommerce business on Amazon and worked to break into the real estate industry.
My wife, Shelly, has been working hard too. After getting her real estate license three years ago she's been actively pursuing that line of work. She also worked full-time for her broker as an office manager.
But as we all know, bad things happen. The list of "bad" during the last five years is pretty long, but two recent events just illustrate our position. Earlier this year, our youngest daughter ended up in intensive care for about a week. I'm not even sure of the final cost for that, but suffice it to say that it's over $50,000. A few weeks ago, I had chest pains and out of an abundance of caution I was sent by ambulance to the hospital. Eight hours of testing and monitoring cost something over $10,000.
Despite holding down four jobs and working an average of 60-80 hours a week, our income was just barely able to cover expenses. But then recently it got harder. Shelly lost her full-time job. I had to shutter my ecommerce business because I no longer had the capital to buy inventory. Uber and Lyft substantially reduced fares, and hence my income. And our efforts at real estate this year have been less productive than we had hoped.
Most of you know that I am a strong believer in the faithfulness of God. And throughout the past five years we have seen miracle after miracle. Every month the money to pay for our necessities has appeared from somewhere. One month a fellow real estate agent graciously paid our rent. This last month a friend who I haven't seen in 20+ years sent us a check to cover our rent. Back in March we received a tax refund check that wasn't expected. All praise and glory to Him who cares for us daily. God looks out for us.
But I've pulled all the strings and I just don't see any way that we can get to Oklahoma without some help. I realize that everyone has bills and that lots of other people are asking for help. If you can help us with even $10-20 that would be a blessing.
If you want to connect, or if you want additional information, please reach out to me. Thank you for taking the time to read our request and consider helping us out. God bless you!
The Back Story: As it sometimes is, life has been difficult for our family for the past five years. In 2014 I lost my job as a regional sales manager. Since that time I have applied for dozens of sales jobs both in the tech industry (my background) and in other areas, but have been unable to find a salaried position.
In 2015 we sold our house to buy some time as I looked for a new source of income. About two years ago I completed the academic training to become a residential home appraiser and about a year ago I obtained my Realtor license. Since that time I have been working as an appraiser trainee under a certified appraiser here in Texas. During this same period, I have also worked as an Uber driver, run an ecommerce business on Amazon and worked to break into the real estate industry.
My wife, Shelly, has been working hard too. After getting her real estate license three years ago she's been actively pursuing that line of work. She also worked full-time for her broker as an office manager.
But as we all know, bad things happen. The list of "bad" during the last five years is pretty long, but two recent events just illustrate our position. Earlier this year, our youngest daughter ended up in intensive care for about a week. I'm not even sure of the final cost for that, but suffice it to say that it's over $50,000. A few weeks ago, I had chest pains and out of an abundance of caution I was sent by ambulance to the hospital. Eight hours of testing and monitoring cost something over $10,000.
Despite holding down four jobs and working an average of 60-80 hours a week, our income was just barely able to cover expenses. But then recently it got harder. Shelly lost her full-time job. I had to shutter my ecommerce business because I no longer had the capital to buy inventory. Uber and Lyft substantially reduced fares, and hence my income. And our efforts at real estate this year have been less productive than we had hoped.
Most of you know that I am a strong believer in the faithfulness of God. And throughout the past five years we have seen miracle after miracle. Every month the money to pay for our necessities has appeared from somewhere. One month a fellow real estate agent graciously paid our rent. This last month a friend who I haven't seen in 20+ years sent us a check to cover our rent. Back in March we received a tax refund check that wasn't expected. All praise and glory to Him who cares for us daily. God looks out for us.
But I've pulled all the strings and I just don't see any way that we can get to Oklahoma without some help. I realize that everyone has bills and that lots of other people are asking for help. If you can help us with even $10-20 that would be a blessing.
If you want to connect, or if you want additional information, please reach out to me. Thank you for taking the time to read our request and consider helping us out. God bless you!
Organizer
Steve Pendleton
Organizer
Katy, TX