Help Robs fight the end-game boss of her education

Lovely person reading this,

I'm Robs. Robin. I have two lovely girls, as you probably know already, and they are my everything. I have raised them and done the best I can for them throughout the years, taking 2 or 3 jobs for most of their lives to put all the pennies together and hope we make it. We've had wonderful support from our friends and family over the years, and finishing my undergraduate degree wouldn't have been feasible without all the people and ways that everyone came together to help the girls and I get through that.

To continue removing financial barriers which remained after my B.A., I went into the Master of Arts in Teaching degree with WGU two years ago. In the last school year I worked fulltime as a Special Education Paraprofessional for the classroom that has elementary and middle school kids with severe and profound disabilities. This was not enough to live on as a single parent, despite also doing 1-2 virtual sessions per week with my sweet Montana kiddos, so I also added behavioral therapy in March by doing the 40-hour training outside of my fulltime job and graduate work to take the exam and become certified in behavioral therapy. In April and May I worked 12-13 hour days Monday thru Friday and Saturday mornings between those two jobs, going straight from fulltime schedule at the school to clients' homes 30+ minutes away to work with kiddos who have an Autism diagnosis and behaviors preventing them from doing well at home, school, or both. I have continued that work in a greater number of hours 5-6 days per week this summer after school let out. I've done all I could, many weeks working 7 days if I include the 1.5-3 hour sessions I've squeezed in my Montana students as well or helping my sister with cleaning Re/Max office as needed, but there has been no way to prepare for the term ahead.

If I push myself, I can finish both my preclinical observations and the demonstration teaching required to obtain my regular teaching license for Georgia and be prepared to apply when jobs are posted next spring for the following school year. The rub is that I don't get paid and it's 5 months of 40 hour work weeks with all the same bills and commute costs. I have prayed for months on this, applied for what I could, and this has become my last resort. I have even opened myself up to learning a new trade with bulldozing and track hoe-ing out on the road with my brother-in-law fulltime during the week, delaying my master's requirements by a semester or two, to earn the money instead of asking for a loan from people I love and who I know have plenty of financial burdens themselves.

But here we are. After avoiding this in all the ways I could think of and try, this is it. I need help. The amount of this fundraiser was carefully calculated to account for all of my averaged monthly expenses for the girls and I, less any fast food or splurges on entertainment and less the anticipated bit each month from child support. This is what I need to stay afloat for August-December while I fight the end game, bad mamba jamba boss of my education. I do not intend to look for evening/weekend work through a new employer due to the demands my school will place on me during the preclinical and demonstration teaching after-hours as well as getting my girls to and from practices, games this fall. Not for lack of motivation or discipline, but because there truly will not be enough hours left when the other commitments are fulfilled each day in the coming fall term.

To be fully ready for any job opportunities in the teaching field I believe God may have a use for me in, I must do this. Funds raised can be paid back next spring to summer, primarily using my tax refund, and with a coffee card or a tearful letter for interest. ❤

To those who can help financially, thank you x100000. To those who can help emotionally/mentally, thank you x100001. And for those who can do all or none of these things but will pray on the behalf of me and my daughters, thank you x5000000000!

Love and gratitude,

Robs