Jalisa's Earthseed Fund
Donation protected
my name is Jalisa
I am a Black Nawat genderqueer artist, educator, doula, and lover.
*takes deep breath*
I have recently moved back home to the DC metro area from Chicago because of the impact COVID-19 had on my family. This is the second time in just a year that I have moved across the country (in 2019 i moved from New Orleans to Chicago to start my grad program). It has been difficult to find my bearings by constantly packing up and leaving, but I am grateful for everything each city has taught me while I was there. I am eternally thankful for how community at home has received me upon my return and don’t know where I would be right now without it.
I am now asking for some material ways you all can continue to support me as I start nearly from scratch all over again.
A little background + where the funds would be going:
- I did not qualify for unemployment because I was a Teaching Assistant in my grad program and would not be employed this summer anyway, somehow that impacted my ability to qualify for pandemic assistance which has been SUPER frustrating.
- I receive a stipend from my grad program from August-May, which still is not a living wage in Chicago and certainly not in DC. The amount of work I have to put into being a full time grad student and an effective teacher makes it hard to care for myself as a human, and extremely difficult to find other ways to make money that would realistically change my financial situation. Since I am here in DC because the fall semester will *likely* be online, my insurance will not cover me out of network. I have health matters I need to tend to that I will not detail and, given that we are in the middle of a pandemic, need to be able to pay for any care I may need. If the program doesn’t stay online this fall then I will not be returning and will then lose my funding. I want to be prepared for whatever possibility.
-I need a new computer. I’ve been using this same one since 2016 and it would be more expensive to repair it (apple sucks) than to just get a new one (a PC). My microphone doesn’t always work, apple care can’t figure out why I don’t have any space on it, and my battery needs to be replaced. This is increasingly important as all of my work has migrated online and I need a reliable computer with enough storage for me to have all my documents, curriculums, etc. on it.
- I’m a doula now! I need a reliable way to support my clients and do not want to expose them or their families to COVID-19 any more than I need to by relying on the DC metro system or ridesharing. That looks like getting a car! I am also assisting my single mother in caring for my 9 year old sibling as we prepare for another semester online and I want a reliable way to get to them (only 20 mins away in the car and nearly two hours by public transit). I have a couple leads on some used ones and would like to put down a large enough deposit so that my monthly costs do not hurt me more than they need to.
- I also want to pay the person helping me with my doula website what they deserve! She is a badass Latinx graphic designer and though she agreed to let me pay what I could, all my bitches gotta eat!
- I need to pay my rent! Though where I’m living is relatively cheap compared to most other housing in the city, it is still the most I have paid for rent despite my income staying static, and in my current case nearly nonexistent. Moving across the country is not cheap and I keep running my savings to the ground each summer because of it.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Anything helps. Gofundme takes a good percentage of $ so I am also on cashapp cash.me/$jalisaor, paypal paypal.me/JalisaO, venmo: JalisaOrellana and you can DM me for zelle! I am trying to live by Octavia Butler’s Earthseed principles and embrace change instead of running away from it. Feeling so vulnerable but I know that tribe got my back <3. Bless you.
I am a Black Nawat genderqueer artist, educator, doula, and lover.
*takes deep breath*
I have recently moved back home to the DC metro area from Chicago because of the impact COVID-19 had on my family. This is the second time in just a year that I have moved across the country (in 2019 i moved from New Orleans to Chicago to start my grad program). It has been difficult to find my bearings by constantly packing up and leaving, but I am grateful for everything each city has taught me while I was there. I am eternally thankful for how community at home has received me upon my return and don’t know where I would be right now without it.
I am now asking for some material ways you all can continue to support me as I start nearly from scratch all over again.
A little background + where the funds would be going:
- I did not qualify for unemployment because I was a Teaching Assistant in my grad program and would not be employed this summer anyway, somehow that impacted my ability to qualify for pandemic assistance which has been SUPER frustrating.
- I receive a stipend from my grad program from August-May, which still is not a living wage in Chicago and certainly not in DC. The amount of work I have to put into being a full time grad student and an effective teacher makes it hard to care for myself as a human, and extremely difficult to find other ways to make money that would realistically change my financial situation. Since I am here in DC because the fall semester will *likely* be online, my insurance will not cover me out of network. I have health matters I need to tend to that I will not detail and, given that we are in the middle of a pandemic, need to be able to pay for any care I may need. If the program doesn’t stay online this fall then I will not be returning and will then lose my funding. I want to be prepared for whatever possibility.
-I need a new computer. I’ve been using this same one since 2016 and it would be more expensive to repair it (apple sucks) than to just get a new one (a PC). My microphone doesn’t always work, apple care can’t figure out why I don’t have any space on it, and my battery needs to be replaced. This is increasingly important as all of my work has migrated online and I need a reliable computer with enough storage for me to have all my documents, curriculums, etc. on it.
- I’m a doula now! I need a reliable way to support my clients and do not want to expose them or their families to COVID-19 any more than I need to by relying on the DC metro system or ridesharing. That looks like getting a car! I am also assisting my single mother in caring for my 9 year old sibling as we prepare for another semester online and I want a reliable way to get to them (only 20 mins away in the car and nearly two hours by public transit). I have a couple leads on some used ones and would like to put down a large enough deposit so that my monthly costs do not hurt me more than they need to.
- I also want to pay the person helping me with my doula website what they deserve! She is a badass Latinx graphic designer and though she agreed to let me pay what I could, all my bitches gotta eat!
- I need to pay my rent! Though where I’m living is relatively cheap compared to most other housing in the city, it is still the most I have paid for rent despite my income staying static, and in my current case nearly nonexistent. Moving across the country is not cheap and I keep running my savings to the ground each summer because of it.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Anything helps. Gofundme takes a good percentage of $ so I am also on cashapp cash.me/$jalisaor, paypal paypal.me/JalisaO, venmo: JalisaOrellana and you can DM me for zelle! I am trying to live by Octavia Butler’s Earthseed principles and embrace change instead of running away from it. Feeling so vulnerable but I know that tribe got my back <3. Bless you.
Organizer
Jalisa Orellana Hardy
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
