09/18/2024
Life Update & Wandering With Pride Donation Request
Hi everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to update you on my personal situation and the progress of my nonprofit, Wandering With Pride.
As many of you know, I’ve been on FMLA since August 1st to focus on my mental health, particularly managing increased anxiety and CPTSD following a workplace event. This has been a tough period, but with the support of a great care team and close friends, I’m working my way back on track. However, this came at a challenging time, as I had just used nearly all of my personal savings to launch Wandering With Pride. This left me financially vulnerable right when I needed to take leave.
To make things more difficult, my insurance miscalculated my payments. Instead of the $1,000 a week I was supposed to receive, I’ve been getting only $23 a week. My employer also cut back its payments, assuming my insurance was covering the rest. Now, eight weeks in, I’m receiving a fraction of what I should be, making it extremely difficult to manage both my personal bills and those of Wandering With Pride.
I am the sole funder of the nonprofit at this point. All of its bills come out of my personal account until we can generate enough donations to cover operational costs. To ensure that every dollar goes directly to the nonprofit, I’ve chosen to use BetterWorld for this fundraiser. BetterWorld is designed specifically for nonprofits, and your entire donation will support Wandering With Pride without any fees.
If you'd like to support Wandering With Pride directly, you can donate through BetterWorld here: BetterWorld Link. 25% of donations will go toward covering overhead costs to keep the nonprofit running, while 75% will go toward funding scholarships and programming.
Why Your Support Matters:
�Wandering With Pride is dedicated to supporting low-income and minority q***r students through travel scholarships and other initiatives. As someone who was once a low-income student, I know how hard it can be to pursue opportunities like these. During undergrad and grad school, I worked multiple jobs, earning anywhere from $15,000 to $45,000 annually, juggling tuition costs and extra jobs to make it work. After grad school, I became an AmeriCorps VISTA, where I made approximately $10,000 a year. Even then, I managed to find ways to pursue opportunities, like traveling to Germany for a lecture. That’s why I’m passionate about ensuring others don’t have to make the same sacrifices to follow their dreams.
Thank you so much for your support, whether through a donation, sharing this message, or just being there for me. It means more than you know.
Also, if you’d like to buy me a coffee while I volunteer for myself on my nonprofit and for the Harris/Walz campaign, you can do so via Venmo: -Eisinger-1 or Cash App: $MichaelEisinger. Your support helps me stay focused on building Wandering With Pride while I get back on my feet.
