Good Morning,
To say a parent would do anything for their child is both a true and powerful statement. Today, I find myself giving the last and what I feel like, is my only thing left, my pride. I have always been the person to help others whether it be financial, emotional or physical. At 52 years old, I never thought I would be requesting financial assistance from strangers wondering if my family will find out about this, wondering if this is truly a possibility and concerned I am getting my hopes up that this could really be my turn for some positive change. I feel like the tree stump in the ending of Shel Silverstein’s book, The Giving Tree. I have very little left but still have a lifetime of needing to give specifically to my 3 girls ages 16, 14 and 12.
My husband and I both worked in the hospitality industry. I as a Wedding Planning and he as a Director of Convention Services. Combined, we made a decent living but still lived pay check to pay check. In 2013, I had to take my niece and nephew in (guardianship, my sister is a struggling alcoholic). When they joined my family I did not receive any financial assistance from my state (MA) and paid roughly $23,000 out of my savings to support them while they lived with us. Eventually we were able to locate them a family who is still in the process of adopting them.
As the years passed and the cost of childcare increased, my husband and I decided that I should open my own wedding business versus trying to work in Boston while paying for childcare. Events by Nikki launched in 2016 and, as with any new business, it took a few years to build my client base however, by 2020, I had over $143,000 in potential revenue on the books. Around this time, my husband was about to get laid off however, we had known for over a year so were able to prepare. The venue he had worked at for over 25 years had been purchased and the exhibit hall where he oversaw all the large trade shows was being torn down. Having this information about the sale/tear down, he had interviewed and negotiated a new position within the same industry and was due to start in March of 2020. As with so many families, Covid destroyed this next phase in our lives. The career move my husband worked so hard for was given to another person that already worked for the hotel. As with most venues, during Covid, it was crucial for companies to hire from within. Although we were devastated, we knew the hotel made the right decision for their reputation. While my husband searched for work I slowly and sadly saw every event I booked cancelled due to the pandemic and sadly closed Events by Nikki the following year. I decided I needed some income that worked with our schedule so began waitressing nights about 30 miles from my home. Our next plan, now that my husband found a new position back in the hospitality business, was for me to become a real estate agent. We felt my love for helping others along with my degree in Hospitality Sales would make this a positive and lucrative move so I began the course in January of 2021. This was the exact month that our world and our lives took a drastic hit. Our youngest daughter, then 10, began suffering from severe school phobia. It was so bad at one point that I, per direction of her pediatrician, actually had to carry her into the car kicking and screaming at me. That was her 5th grade year. She is currently enrolled in our public school in the 7th grade and her phobia not only has worsened but she has since been diagnosed with General and Social Anxiety Disorder. During these past 3 years, I have had many doctor appointments, therapy appointments and paid out of pocket for a neuropsych test to rule out the spectrum. Due to the time this mental illness consumes and her inability to get herself into school, my course has been put on hold and I have re-purchased it two more times in the hopes of still becoming an agent. As of today, I waitress 4 times a month which barely covers the cost of food shopping. In addition, the school system filed a 51A which was quickly closed and then a CRA for truancy even though MA Education Law states a child with GAD/SAD is not nor can be considered truant. We have had to take her to court and now the school is threatening to place her in a program out of the home for up to 4 months and she would then be considered a child of the state. I have been trying desperately to find a pro bono lawyer but with no success.
In my application I stated I needed assistance for Mortgage Foreclosure however, I chose to tell my story because I am uncomfortable with the amount I am requesting and wanted any donor to know why the amount is so high. Over these difficult years, I have depleted my 401k (roughly 400K before tax and penalty), I was on a forbearance plan with my mortgage carrier and just got denied for a modification to reinstate my mortgage. I would need roughly 35k to save my home. We have close to 42K in credit debt and owe over 50k in tax debt because of the early retirement withdrawal.
To be able to get back on our feet, I am kindly requesting $130,000 to reinstate my mortgage and pay off my tax and credit card debt. I would love to put back the $400 K from my retirement however, feel I, at 52, can hopefully work to recover this money to be able to retire and if I can’t then I’ll work as long as I am able. In addition to the above challenges, I suffer from Lupus which sadly is often triggered by stress. Although I am often in joint pain with severe fatigue, I have and will continue to push forward for my family and am well aware there are thousands of people in worse scenarios than my own. For this reason as well as the love of my daughters, I will continue to do what I can to bring in an income. I did just accept another waitressing position so now have 2 more nights a week I work which will help us financially.
To say I am grateful to anyone that has read my story is an under statement. I will continue to hope that someone out there reads my story and may be able to assist me. Should nothing come of this then at least I know I am still trying the best I can to give whatever I can to support my family.
In the end of The Giving Tree, the tree was still able to give something to the boy as only a stump, this gives me hope that, I too ,can find a way to keep giving.
Thank you for reading and for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Nikki Fazo
Venmo – @Nicole-Fazo (last 4 – 7552)