Teacher w/new job has $0 to move
Donation protected
My name is Frances Parsons. My husband, Kerry Parsons, found his purpose in life a few years ago when he realized what many of us knew all along--that he was born to be a teacher. He has completed a Master of Education and is 3/4 through a Doctor of Education degree with a 3.48 GPA.
We moved to our current home in Halifax, Virginia, when he got a job teaching Latin and French at a therapeutic boarding school for troubledhigh school students. He loved his work at Carlbrook School, and his students, and they responded to his joy and compassion. Unfortunately, that school is closed and Kerry has been out of work a long time now.
We have survived on my disability, our credit, his tutoring through Varsity Tutors, emptying our retirement accounts, and selling our valuables. While I have Medicare, we have not been able to afford Obamacare or anything else for Kerry, so he has had to go without medical care or much-needed dental care. Last winter, there was a period that we had to go without gas for heat and cooking. Worst of all, we had to give up a number of our pets.
Now Kerry has received an offer today, 27 October, for a job teaching Latin at the Young Men's Leadership Academy, a charter school that serves primarily African-American and Hispanic-American boys in Fort Worth, Texas. This is a good job with a good salary and benefits, teaching his favorite subject to kids who maybe need a teacher like him more than some others might, and the school wants him to start as soon as we can get him there. They want an answer next week, the first few eays of November.
Unfortunately, though we have never incurred a debt we didn't expect to be able to pay, my Social Security simply hasn't been sufficient for us to live on. We have emptied our retirement accounts, used up our credit, sold our valuables, and accepted more than our only close family member could really afford to lend us. We simply have no untapped resources. By my calculation, it would take at least $6,000 for us to move to Texas (this includes not just the actual move, but also 1st and last months' rent), but we frequently don't even have the money for groceries!
Kerry can't accept the job if we can't move there, but we can't afford to move there until he's received several paychecks...
If Kerry can accept this job, we will be independent with the first paycheck, and can be out of debt in a couple of years, plus he will have the joy of doing the work that is his first, best destiny.
If he has to turn down the job, we will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy within the next few weeks, which would add great shame to the sorrow and difficulty under which we are already living. It would also be a great shame to leave such a teacher idle while there are kids who need really good teachers.
Our gratitude to anyone who is able and willing to help us move will be...absolute. We would, as we recover financially, thank those who help us in two ways--by gradually repaying them, and by paying the kindness forward by showing the same generosity to others as soon as we can.
We moved to our current home in Halifax, Virginia, when he got a job teaching Latin and French at a therapeutic boarding school for troubledhigh school students. He loved his work at Carlbrook School, and his students, and they responded to his joy and compassion. Unfortunately, that school is closed and Kerry has been out of work a long time now.
We have survived on my disability, our credit, his tutoring through Varsity Tutors, emptying our retirement accounts, and selling our valuables. While I have Medicare, we have not been able to afford Obamacare or anything else for Kerry, so he has had to go without medical care or much-needed dental care. Last winter, there was a period that we had to go without gas for heat and cooking. Worst of all, we had to give up a number of our pets.
Now Kerry has received an offer today, 27 October, for a job teaching Latin at the Young Men's Leadership Academy, a charter school that serves primarily African-American and Hispanic-American boys in Fort Worth, Texas. This is a good job with a good salary and benefits, teaching his favorite subject to kids who maybe need a teacher like him more than some others might, and the school wants him to start as soon as we can get him there. They want an answer next week, the first few eays of November.
Unfortunately, though we have never incurred a debt we didn't expect to be able to pay, my Social Security simply hasn't been sufficient for us to live on. We have emptied our retirement accounts, used up our credit, sold our valuables, and accepted more than our only close family member could really afford to lend us. We simply have no untapped resources. By my calculation, it would take at least $6,000 for us to move to Texas (this includes not just the actual move, but also 1st and last months' rent), but we frequently don't even have the money for groceries!
Kerry can't accept the job if we can't move there, but we can't afford to move there until he's received several paychecks...
If Kerry can accept this job, we will be independent with the first paycheck, and can be out of debt in a couple of years, plus he will have the joy of doing the work that is his first, best destiny.
If he has to turn down the job, we will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy within the next few weeks, which would add great shame to the sorrow and difficulty under which we are already living. It would also be a great shame to leave such a teacher idle while there are kids who need really good teachers.
Our gratitude to anyone who is able and willing to help us move will be...absolute. We would, as we recover financially, thank those who help us in two ways--by gradually repaying them, and by paying the kindness forward by showing the same generosity to others as soon as we can.
Organizer
Frances Parsons
Organizer
Halifax, VA