Purchase a Customized Truck for Ryan - StreetGold

Hello, everybody, my name is Ryan Astengo but some of you might know me as #SG #StreetGold. I am a 35-year-old single father of a teenage daughter and pre-teenage son. I recently received my Baccalaureate degree in English from UCLA, and I am preparing to pursue my Master's degree in English from Cal State Los Angeles. I start out my story like this because my children and my education are the two main reasons why I decided to ask for help and create this fundraiser.
I was born with a disability known as Arthrogryposis which is basically a fancy way of saying the deformity in my arms and legs are the results of muscle & joint contractions. I rely on an electric wheelchair to get around but I do not let it stop me from doing much. Considering the things I have seen and done so far, I cannot consider my life anything less than a blessing.
When my kids were younger, I use to sit one of them on my lap while my other kid was on the back of my wheelchair. This was my way of taking them out as we would go to the libraries, stores, parks, or just go out for a cruise. Oftentimes, we took the buses and trains to get to our destination. I remember at times the buses would take so long coming home from the beaches or downtown LA that my kids would get tired and both of them would fall asleep on my lap. Because I am single, I would always do different activities with my kids alone, and sometimes there was nobody to help me with them. Eventually, as they got bigger, I bought them skateboards and bikes so they could keep up with my electric wheelchair as we would go places. Despite the lack of transportation, I never wanted to let anything hold us back from going out into the world and enjoying our lives as much as possible. 
Consequently, public transportation became associated with the way I got around town with my kids when they were younger. Public transportation was also my way of going to school and work, then coming back home. I live 27.6 miles (thanks to google for that info) from Alhambra to UCLA, which is normally a 30-minute drive without traffic, and I do mean no traffic at all. However, there were quarters when it was difficult getting to my required early morning classes because they were only offered at 8 am. Fortunately, I utilized Access Service, which is a transportation service that takes riders with disabilities to their destinations. Unfortunately, Access Service picks up their customers when they have time available (which is usually never close to the time requested), and it was a shared-ride service which basically meant I had to go with the driver to pick-up and drop-off other riders throughout Los Angeles. Not only did this require me to leave my house at 5 am, but sometimes I would not get home until after 9 pm as a result of going on extra rides, dropping off other riders throughout LA traffic. There were days when I would easily waste 5 hours just sitting in the van. Another inconvenience that Access Service riders frequently deal with is the lack of professionalism and punctuality from most of their drivers. I do not think anybody should have to deal with these daily obstacles just to have a productive day, do you?
The point I am trying to make is, it is time for me to finally drive a vehicle of my own. A few months ago, I took my written test to receive my driver's license and I passed. When I asked the people administering the test how I should proceed to get my license as a disabled driver, none of the employees at the DMV in Lincoln Heights knew how to properly help me or how to even offer any beneficial resources. Part of the reason nobody knew what I should do was that the DMV does not have vehicles for disabled drivers to take their behind-the-wheel test. So I gave up and accepted the fact that I will probably never get the opportunity to drive my own vehicle. However, at the beginning of 2021, I received a new electric wheelchair, and as I was conversating with the technician, I told him how I wanted to drive but I gave up on driving my own vehicle. Ironically, the technician used to work for a company where he customized and modified vehicles for disabled drivers like myself. 
The technician ended up connecting me with a representative from his old company that sells the modified vehicles. The representative agreed to bring me a vehicle that he felt would best fit my physical needs and my desire to eventually drive. In my case, he brought me a 2016 Silverado, with only 8,000 miles, and it is already modified for drivers like myself. Not only was the modified truck brought to my house so I can check it out, but I had the opportunity to get on the hydraulic lift-ramps. As I got into the driver's seat and turned on the engine without transferring out of my wheelchair, I was so excited because THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT EVER HAPPENED! 
So as you can probably guess, I am really looking forward to purchasing this truck so I can finally drive it one day. I recently spoke with the owner of the vehicle, and the nice man is willing to sell it to me with all of the modifications included.
The truck is being sold for $35,000, but the owner wants to sell it within the next 2 weeks if possible. I know this seems like a lot of money in a short amount of time, but I am still grateful for this opportunity because the truck is still pretty new at 8,000 miles, and the cost is a great value when considering the customized modifications being included. When the total cost of the truck and the modifications are totaled, this specific vehicle can easily cost $80,000. Currently, I tutor online where I help college students throughout the country, and sometimes in other countries as well, write their academic papers. Aside from helping students with their assignments, students also contact me to assist them with their statements as they apply for grad schools, medical schools, law schools, and veterinary schools as well. I love tutoring, but the income is not enough to afford this truck within the next 2 weeks. This is an awesome, but rare opportunity that I really need to take advantage of. Hopefully, you all understand why?
Once I have this truck, I can finally get out of the house and start looking for work and going back to school again. Because I am still riding public transportation, I do not go anywhere as I take the risk of catching the coronavirus every time I go on a bus or train. Having my own truck will allow me to go visit my kids, and start spending time with them again. I would love to pick them up and go to the beaches, or to the drive-in movie theaters, or even for long drives without a specific destination. The simple, but important little things in life are what memories are made of.
I know times are crazy, and finances are tight for everybody, but I figure if everybody can donate, even if it's just $1, and share this fundraiser, I know I will have enough to purchase that truck in 2 weeks. So, if you can, please donate, and just know, when you do donate and share, every single amount of support is greatly appreciated. 
Please show this to all your people at work, do not be afraid to make a quick class announcement, talk about this when you are with your people, and DEFINITELY help me make this go viral by spreading the link all over every social media platform. 
If you have any questions regarding anything, or if you have beneficial resources and information regarding anything you just read, feel free to contact me. 

Donations can also be made through other sources as well:
PayPal - @therealstreetgold
Venmo - StreetGold
CashApp - $Str33tGold

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all!!!

Ryan A. 
#SG #StreetGold