TL;DR:

Will you invest $5 to help me help others?

Backstory:

In January 2023, I was laid off with one month of severance. A few weeks earlier, my wife Mary had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after suddenly losing vision in one eye. We had no idea what was coming next.

For six months, we lived on minimal unemployment, food stamps, and faith. God showed up in ways I cannot fully explain.We never went hungry and every single bill was paid on time.

Who I Am:

I spent over twenty years in technology after teaching myself to code while serving as a Corrections Specialist at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. I worked my way up from data entry clerk to Perl Programmer, Senior Software Engineer, Principal Engineer, and Software Engineering Manager before lay off. Now I am working as a Senior DevOps Engineer. I have always believed that growth should never stop.

In 2022, I became Chapter Chaplain for the Road Riders For Jesus Motorcycle Ministry. At our national rally that October, I heard the Holy Spirit clearly: pursue this further. A year later, my wife and I were commissioned as Kentucky State Chaplains. I now hold a ministry license and lead the men's prayer team at Crossroads Fellowship.

I also co-lead Trauma REBOOT classes — a faith-based program helping people work through the wounds of their past. Sitting across from veterans, brothers and sisters in the ministry, and people carrying years of unprocessed pain, I keep hitting the same wall: my heart is ready, but my training isn't enough.

That's what this is about.

The Mission:

I am pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at Regent University (tuition is $250/credit for veterans in the online program), followed by a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, so that I can offer more than presence and prayer — I can offer professional, evidence-based, faith-rooted care to the people God has already placed in my path.

Veterans. Trauma survivors. Motorcycle ministry brothers and sisters. People who have tried everything else.

Why I Need Your Help:

Mary's MS medication and specialist are not covered by my work insurance, so we carry a separate plan that now costs nearly $1,000 a month. She had to leave her job last year when her health made it too difficult to continue. We are managing, but there is no margin for tuition. I have been applying to scholarships for some time now but there are no guarantees. (May 21, 2026: I have applied for twenty something in the last two days alone.)

The Ask (Updated):

I only need 2,580 more people to give $5.00! (Started at 3,000)

I am asking for help in raising a total of $15,000 to cover tuition, fees, and academic materials for the final two years of my bachelor's degree. Anything beyond that goal will go directly toward my master's program.

Will you help me help others?

If you've ever been helped by someone who took the time to truly see you — a chaplain, a counselor, a mentor — you know what that investment is worth. This is your chance to put that into someone who will pay it forward for the rest of his life.

A Note on Stewardship:

I have spent my entire career solving complex problems with limited resources. I don't take your generosity lightly. Every dollar raised goes toward equipping me to serve — nothing else.

Thank you for believing in this. Growth never ends.