Main fundraiser photo

When One Door Closes. . .

Alexander Graham Bell has been famously quoted as saying, "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." I can see the door that is open for me, but I need your help to enter that door.

When I began college, I was a history major. I loved educating people and spreading my love for history. I received my BA and MA in history and pursued further graduate studies in history. For the past five years I’ve taught world and American history, government, economics, civics, geography, and English to high school and middle school students. In May 2015 I lost my job to unforeseen circumstances which has made me reevaluate my life goals. One of those goals is to educate people in innovative ways, and with your help I can achieve this goal three-fold.

First, I love to teach, but I want to take that avenue and change its direction to make it more accessible. Therefore, I would like to focus on museums and the educational opportunities they can provide. I am currently living this part of the goal by recently taking a position at a wonderful museum in Vermont. But I hadn't counted on the initial expenses of moving from the warm climate of Alabama to the frozen world of Vermont. While I love my new state, the cost of snow tires, traveling home for holidays, winter clothing, and even simple things like extreme-weather windshield wiper blades and windshield wiper fluid adds up over time.

Second, many people have encouraged me to become a writer, not just of history, but of fiction. I think fiction is a great way to get history to the masses, as long as a book is well researched. Fiction writing can help change the world, but I need financial support to make that happen. I have already written a good portion of a first draft of a novel, and I have received positive feedback, but it needs additional work. I want to get my writing career off the ground, but I need financial support to make that happen. This means help covering expenses associated with printing, editing, and mailing manuscripts to publishers. In November 2015 my best friend and greatest cheerleader passed away. I want to continue writing in his memory.

Third, on July 12, 2010 I started a blog called, The Closet Professor. It has been a moderate success as I have discussed my travels and travails. There have been many ups and downs since I started, and many of you have followed me on this journey. I've been told by many that my blog is helpful and for that I am grateful. Helping others see they are not alone in this world was one of the original goals of my blog. The period since the death of my best friend has been the most difficult. I almost stopped writing The Closet Professor. I had a crisis of faith, but my loving readers overwhelmingly gave their support and so, for these reasons, I keep writing daily. But as with so many things in life, there are ongoing expenses not only maintaining this main blog, but its back-up on WordPress.

I am asking you to help me make this world a better educated world. Allow me to continue to pursue my new career at the museum where I work, to continue to explore the world of fiction writing, and to afford to keep my blog updated. Your help in meeting these goals would be tremendously appreciated.

Organiser

Joseph Cates
Organiser
Danielsville, AL

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