This is the hardest thing I have ever had to write, in fact I'm not a very good writer, I tend to waffle a bit, so I apologise in advance for my waffling. The decision to start this crowdfunding wasn't taken lightly, but its my last hope at rebuilding my life.
My name is Gloria and I have been living in the UK since January 2000. I used to live in Watford and work in London up until 2013, when I then started working from home selling bits and bobs on eBay. In late 2015 I made the decision to return to Portugal as I had a job offer in Lisbon, however I had to turn down that job offer after arriving in Portugal, as both my parents were in their late 80s and not doing well, so I moved to their little town in the north to be closer to them. There is where things started going horribly wrong. I needed to work to support myself but their were no jobs, so I made the decision to buy a coffee shop. Guess I fell for the romanticism of such a venture, and like 90% of those who get involved in the food industry, I failed. I I had clients that are of a certain reputation and that wanted me to give them credit for coffee and a cake. I refused and my life was threatened by a mob of gypsies who threatened me with an axe. I left Portugal early 2019 to return to the UK. Its been a struggle since then. I forgot that I am no longer a young 20/30 something year old. I'm now in my fifties and not so 'hireable' anymore. While in Portugal I also suffered a spinal injury after a serious fall on slippery wet marble steps, which makes it difficult for me to sit or stand for extended periods of time, so retail has not been an option for me.
When I returned to the UK 2019 I worked at a pub in Banbury, Oxford for 3 months as the chef, but it took its toll on my back as I was on my feet from 9am until 8pm when I left work. I was taking a minimum of 12 Ibuprofen just to keep me going. End of 2019 a friend invited me to move to Co Durham as rent was cheaper. So I came, and I love Co Durham, it's beautiful, peaceful and the people are wonderful here. They greet you in the streets, which was a huge contrast to life in the south, but there is one huge downfall, no jobs, and the few jobs there are, they go to youngsters. I still have a lot in me to give and I need to work to live. When Covid hit in 2020, that really changed things. I have been living off help from friends and families as I don't claim benefits and I don't want to claim, all I want is to stand on my own two feet and support myself. It's who I am and how I was raised, but I have lost everything because of my bad decisions in Portugal and starting over in the UK hasn't been easy due to my age.
I owe my friends a huge debt of gratitude and some money for the help they have been giving me, but I cannot keep burdening them. For the last two years I have been wanting to set up a website for running competitions of high end value home appliances and gadgets, but it costs money, money I don't have. Whether I start with one product or several, the programming behind such a website is complex and needs to be done by a professional who knows what they are doing. That costs money. The cheapest quote I had was about a year ago for £2500 plus VAT plus any extras for plugins etc, then there is the bit of money needed for advertising and marketing.
So the reason for my fundraising is for raising money for the website and for me to be able to pay my rent, bills and eat until the website starts generating an income. I already have rent arrears which I need to pay or become homeless. My food is coming from a foodbank, which is not helping my diabetes.
I'm just asking for a legs up so I can stand on my own two feet and take care of myself so I can start paying back off all of my debts.
If you can help, I will be eternally grateful, if you can't help with money, then please share my crowdfunding. Either way, thank you in advance.
As my website is a competitions website, I would like to offer all donors a free entry into my first raffle, or any future raffles, you would choose. Or I could offer a gift to a lucky donor completely independent of the website.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my ramblings and am willing to answer any questions you may have.