I desperately need a new, reliable vehicle immediately. If you can contribute anything, it will be life saving.

I have work (I'm a professional residential painter) but I can't get there because my van just blew a head gasket. I've been working on a job 2 hours away and staying on site while I complete the painting work. I've actually got almost all my painting equipment at the job site that I can't get back to - hundreds of dollars in brushes, drop cloths, ladders, and numerous tools. I desperately need to get back there to finish the work so I can have income and especially to retrieve all my equipment. I have more clients waiting for me to show up, too.

You might think my van wasn't cared for and that's why I blew a head gasket. I assure, that's the opposite of the case! I took the photo of our poor van sitting my driveway just minutes ago. You can see, it's got years on it, but also that it's been cared for. Since my partner, Di, and I got the van about 6 years ago, we've been extremely diligent with both maintenance and repairs. Our vehicle is literally our lifeline. Without it, I can't work at all. When we got it, it was life changing. It was by far the nicest vehicle either of us had ever owned and we expected to keep it for a long time. We had to borrow over half of the money to buy the van (it cost about $10k) from a couple extremely generous friends and family members. Starting the day we got it, we've been extremely diligent with maintenance and repairs, getting regular oil changes and taking it to the shop immediately if even the slightest noise or issue could be detected. We've put over $7k into the van since we got it. Recently, the heat stopped working and we took it in. It cost a little over $200 to fix a clogged heater core, and we thought it was good to go. But just two weeks later, the heat went out again. So we took it back to the shop. Their diagnosis - a blown head gasket. We were prepared to spend $1,500 to get the heater core replaced, but to be told it's a blown head gasket is devastating. I researched what to expect and asked the shop a lot of questions. They didn't charge us for the diagnosis or the coolant they added. They said it wasn't caused by anything we did or didn't do. We had previous issues with the radiator, but were careful and diligent to get it repaired and it was fine for over a year. Now, after I got the van home and gave it time to cool down, I checked the coolant reservoir and confirmed it's showing signs of a blown head gasket - the coolant is opaque, thickened, and even had a few bits of what looked like rust in it. While the van does currently run, there's no way to be sure how much longer that will be true. I'm terrified that I'll end up stranded in the cold and in need of a tow if I try to return to the job site. At best, I'm hoping to drive the van to a dealership to trade it in for something else.

I don't charge my clients anything up front and I only charge time and materials. I want to do honest work and do my best to provide fair services. I don't make a lot of money this way, but I do feel good about earning my living fairly. Even if I asked for an advance from my next two clients, I still couldn't afford to replace the van I've been driving and I'd literally have to starve for weeks and weeks as my income generally only covers groceries for me and Di, car insurance, and gas. I really don't spend money on anything else and have basically nothing in savings.

Last year, the painting business was so slow, my life and work partner Di gave up the career we've been slowly building together for almost a decade. She went to work for the local Sherwin Williams, where she makes about half as much hourly as she made before, but at least it's consistent work and it pays just enough to cover the other half of our expenses. She's not allowed to work part time with me because it would be a conflict of interest. We were hoping to get a second vehicle to ease the issue of both of us needing to get to different places for work, but we just can't ever seem to get ahead. Case in point - our washing machine is also currently broken and we're attempting to diagnose and repair it ourselves. We have at most $1,500 in savings between us to get another vehicle, and as it stands with a blown head gasket, the van we have is worth almost nothing.

I can't work without a reliable vehicle that can carry all my painting equipment. I pretty much need a minivan, and it needs to be in good enough shape to last us at least a couple years, if not 5+.

Like I said to begin this story: I'm desperate. I don't see any path forward for us. I need the help of my extended friends and strangers. If each one of my 810 Facebook friends threw in just $10, I'd have enough to get a decent vehicle. I hate to ask, to be so needy, so desperate. I can't offer anything in return but gratitude. I beg you, please contribute something to this campaign.

For anyone that doesn't know me, I try to give back to my community as much as I can. I've served on my local Parks and Recreation board for over 5 years and was recently elected chair. (It's a volunteer position). I've also served on my city's Charter Revision Commission for over 2 years now as vice chair. (another volunteer position) And I also served on the Historic Preservation Commission for about a year until it was dissolved by the City. On top of all that, I've been a leader in the disc golf community for over 10 years. I started and co-led efforts to double the local disc golf course, including hundreds of hours creating fairways and tees and signs and maintaining it all as well as organizing events and running a fun league on Sundays. And before that I ran and operated a non-profit poetry broadside publication completely out of pocket for nearly 10 years in an effort to share great local, contemporary poetry with my community and state.

My partner, Di, had two kids before we got together over a decade ago. We've always struggled to support them and had all the trials any parent could ever expect and probably a few more. While Di's always given most of her time to her kids, she has also been volunteering at the local animal shelter, caring for cats every Sunday for about 10 years now.

In truth, Di and I have wanted to marry for quite a few years now, but the state of our finances and the needs our of household have always been greater than our income, so we keep putting it off. We've considered a courthouse wedding, but we also know we'd spend hours explaining to all our friends and family why we couldn't have had some little party or event. And really, as much as I want to marry Di, I want our wedding to have at least some little moment we can share with others.

I write these things to explain - we've always struggled financially, but despite that, we've also always endeavored to give at the very least our time to the community we live in.

Please, please help us. We have no where left to ask.