Light at the End of the Tunnel Fund
Donation protected
Hi there. You may know me as a friend, maybe a coworker, a fellow rescue poster on Facebook, or you might not know me at all. It doesn't matter. If you will give me a few moments of your time, I would cherish it.
My family is struggling; genuinely worried about losing our utilities or medical insurance because there's not enough to go around, especially after the mortgage payments. I know we're not the only ones, and there are people out there who don't even have homes. People who sleep on the street at night or in their cars or homeless shelters. There are personal friends of mine, people whom I love, who are in these very situations. I'm not asking you to pity us, but only to empathize if you can. This country has fallen so far from the beautiful ideals it once preached, and most families aren't able to afford even the bare necessities. All we want to do is live without the constant worry of, "What next?"
My dad is a retired firefighter/marshal with 20+ years under his belt. He now runs Rehab 13-8, a fleet of vehicles manned by volunteers who offer relief to fire and police on the scene. They provide heat in the winter and cool shade during the summer, plus food, drinks, and an on-board bathroom. Whenever there is a major fire, a hostage stand-off, a search and rescue, the unit is there. Unfortunately, dad's been in a lot of pain these past few years. His favorite expression is, "Never get old, kid." He's always loved to work on models of trains, planes, cars, etc. and nowadays his arthritis is so bad that he can't manage it for long. I've done my best to step up and help with the manual work that he can't do on his own anymore. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool, etc. I wish I could earn money with devotion and work ethic, but the economy doesn't run on good will.
Mom's been supporting us as well as she can, often times well-beyond her capacity. She works all day and half the time into the night, to finish loans for her mortgage company. Her medical problems have become so numerous and her doctors' trips so frequent, that she had to make arrangements with her boss to work at home. An hour+ commute each way just wasn't an option with her current state. Not to mention, we only recently settled my grandmom (her mother) into a retirement home. She is my last surviving grandparent and I cherish her something fierce. She just celebrated her 85th birthday this past March, and we couldn't be happier to have her. Unfortunately, a mixture of age-related illnesses have taken their toll on her. She has a very difficult time dressing and walking these days, but she's still lively. She bounced from child to child (of which she has five) until she settled at our house for a period of several months, while we worked out a place for her to live with permanent care. I'll never forget those days we spent with her; helping her down the stairs, making meals, sitting in front of the T.V. It was painstaking sometimes, but I would never give up those memories. Dementia is an evil thing that steals away the best parts of a person, and it never gets easier having to remind her of things she should know so well.
It's been a long, LONG, LONG year already and we're only halfway through it. The bills never go away and the issues just keep piling up. My sister and I are at a loss as to how to help. I'm constantly looking for a job, but success is limited. Interview after interview, but no dice. The disappointment hardens a person. Not to mention, being diagnosed bipolar depressive with a tendency toward panic attacks...doesn't exactly help me keep jobs. I have medication and doctors who help me, but if you have any experience with bipolar disorder, you know that mood swings are the least of your problems. It's terrifying to consider my parents' debt when I myself am in debt. College loans, the bane of every American student's existence. If you can donate $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00 it all counts. I'm thinking of offering art to people in thanks for donating, or maybe some items of mine that I want to sell.
Our "American dream" is simply to wake up each day without fear. The fear of a car repossession, the fear of foreclosure, the fear of losing our pets because we can no longer provide for them and us. I want to help my family, the people who've given me a home all these years that I've struggled to figure out who I am. I want my parents to go to sleep happy in the fact that they won't wake up to disaster. We should be able to buy healthy food without sacrificing the use of water or electricity. These donations won't free us of debt, but they will be a tiny glow of light at the end of a very dark cavern. Have you been in our position before? Can you remember how it felt? Are you feeling it as this very moment? The crippling, chest-tightening anxiety that you may have to leave everything you love behind? I don't want that for us...I can't have that.
Even if you have nothing to give, I ask you to PLEASE share this with anyone you know. Then ask them to share it. Post it on your facebook, twitter, tumblr, your blog, print it out and stick it on a community bulletin board. If there are people in the world who will help us, then I want to spread this as far as it can possibly go. Maybe if I can fix this, I can go on to be the screen writer or director I want to be, without the guilt of leaving my loved ones to crumble. For your concern, I offer the words of those green aliens from Toy Story, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful."
My family is struggling; genuinely worried about losing our utilities or medical insurance because there's not enough to go around, especially after the mortgage payments. I know we're not the only ones, and there are people out there who don't even have homes. People who sleep on the street at night or in their cars or homeless shelters. There are personal friends of mine, people whom I love, who are in these very situations. I'm not asking you to pity us, but only to empathize if you can. This country has fallen so far from the beautiful ideals it once preached, and most families aren't able to afford even the bare necessities. All we want to do is live without the constant worry of, "What next?"
My dad is a retired firefighter/marshal with 20+ years under his belt. He now runs Rehab 13-8, a fleet of vehicles manned by volunteers who offer relief to fire and police on the scene. They provide heat in the winter and cool shade during the summer, plus food, drinks, and an on-board bathroom. Whenever there is a major fire, a hostage stand-off, a search and rescue, the unit is there. Unfortunately, dad's been in a lot of pain these past few years. His favorite expression is, "Never get old, kid." He's always loved to work on models of trains, planes, cars, etc. and nowadays his arthritis is so bad that he can't manage it for long. I've done my best to step up and help with the manual work that he can't do on his own anymore. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool, etc. I wish I could earn money with devotion and work ethic, but the economy doesn't run on good will.
Mom's been supporting us as well as she can, often times well-beyond her capacity. She works all day and half the time into the night, to finish loans for her mortgage company. Her medical problems have become so numerous and her doctors' trips so frequent, that she had to make arrangements with her boss to work at home. An hour+ commute each way just wasn't an option with her current state. Not to mention, we only recently settled my grandmom (her mother) into a retirement home. She is my last surviving grandparent and I cherish her something fierce. She just celebrated her 85th birthday this past March, and we couldn't be happier to have her. Unfortunately, a mixture of age-related illnesses have taken their toll on her. She has a very difficult time dressing and walking these days, but she's still lively. She bounced from child to child (of which she has five) until she settled at our house for a period of several months, while we worked out a place for her to live with permanent care. I'll never forget those days we spent with her; helping her down the stairs, making meals, sitting in front of the T.V. It was painstaking sometimes, but I would never give up those memories. Dementia is an evil thing that steals away the best parts of a person, and it never gets easier having to remind her of things she should know so well.
It's been a long, LONG, LONG year already and we're only halfway through it. The bills never go away and the issues just keep piling up. My sister and I are at a loss as to how to help. I'm constantly looking for a job, but success is limited. Interview after interview, but no dice. The disappointment hardens a person. Not to mention, being diagnosed bipolar depressive with a tendency toward panic attacks...doesn't exactly help me keep jobs. I have medication and doctors who help me, but if you have any experience with bipolar disorder, you know that mood swings are the least of your problems. It's terrifying to consider my parents' debt when I myself am in debt. College loans, the bane of every American student's existence. If you can donate $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00 it all counts. I'm thinking of offering art to people in thanks for donating, or maybe some items of mine that I want to sell.
Our "American dream" is simply to wake up each day without fear. The fear of a car repossession, the fear of foreclosure, the fear of losing our pets because we can no longer provide for them and us. I want to help my family, the people who've given me a home all these years that I've struggled to figure out who I am. I want my parents to go to sleep happy in the fact that they won't wake up to disaster. We should be able to buy healthy food without sacrificing the use of water or electricity. These donations won't free us of debt, but they will be a tiny glow of light at the end of a very dark cavern. Have you been in our position before? Can you remember how it felt? Are you feeling it as this very moment? The crippling, chest-tightening anxiety that you may have to leave everything you love behind? I don't want that for us...I can't have that.
Even if you have nothing to give, I ask you to PLEASE share this with anyone you know. Then ask them to share it. Post it on your facebook, twitter, tumblr, your blog, print it out and stick it on a community bulletin board. If there are people in the world who will help us, then I want to spread this as far as it can possibly go. Maybe if I can fix this, I can go on to be the screen writer or director I want to be, without the guilt of leaving my loved ones to crumble. For your concern, I offer the words of those green aliens from Toy Story, "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful."
Organiser
Britt Colacicco
Organiser
Cherry Hill, NJ