Struggling NYC Actor Needs Your Help So His Fiancé’s Family Can Attend The Wedding
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In September The New Civil Rights Movement brought you a very personal story from a struggling NYC actor who is getting married and desperately wants his fiancé’s family to attend their wedding, but they just can’t afford to. We were so proud when several NCRM readers generously contributed. Now, we’re making one last pitch for Ivan and his in-laws to be.
Here’s a final plea from Ivan, a letter and a video we suggested he record. We hope if you’re able, you’ll do what you can.
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I am lucky. Lucky beyond limit. I have a loving, supportive family, a job I look forward to going to every day, a fiancé that makes me spill over with happiness, and I live in a state that chooses to recognize that just because we are both men, Mr. Wonderful and I are worthy and deserve the same rights as anyone else.
Congratulations to Maine, Maryland, and Washington for joining the club!
As our January 4th, 2013 wedding date approaches there is only one thought that keeps me up at night, sleepless with anxiety- “Will his family be able to come?”
His recently single mother and six younger siblings, all of whom still live at home or are working their way through college, are elated for us and have only finances holding them back from making the trip halfway across the country to be with us on our most special day. Their father is not interested.
It is incredible to me how positive some people can be. Every time I talk to his mother, who provided for her family on here own by working tirelessly around the clock, she smiles and tells me that she has been saving change, that she has a friend who might loan her XYZ, that she knows that God will provide. I have never wanted to be God more. I can hear the doubt and worry in her voice as she says the words she wants so desperately to believe. I wish I could afford to get them all here on my own… but I can’t. Mr. Wonderful’s family — my family — might not be at our wedding.
So, I humbly turn to you.
Since starting this campaign over the summer we have raised almost $1,000 dollars. Originally, we thought that getting everyone to us would take $5,000, but as it turns out my future mother-in-law is a ninja at pooling resources (single moms, huh?), and we have managed to cut costs so that $2,000 looks like all it will take to have the wedding procession of our dreams. With so little to go I have to bow my head and ask you again, kind strangers to please visit our fundraising page.
Even if you cannot donate, any reposting, emailing, or spreading the word would be more helpful than you know. Already, we are floored by your support and encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Ivan adds:
After watching this video I realize that the cluttered bedroom of my fiancé’s grandpa might not have been the most optimal setting for this. Somehow, only in the solitude of his pseudo-hoarder mess was I able to find the calm and quiet I needed to record this message. If you look closely, you can probably find Waldo.
Editor’s note: Ivan is my fiancé’s friend, and a friend of mine as well.
Ivan and his fiancé are both 20-something go-getters in New York City trying to make everything they can from the lives they were given. Both actors, they also work various day jobs that they feel fortunate to have, and try to spend as much time as possible taking advantage of their wonderful surroundings with friends (as long as it doesn’t dent the wedding fund!) Favorite pastimes include board games, creating song parodies, and watching reality TV competitions online. They met in December of 2010 while rehearsing for the national tour of a children’s musical based on a popular book series that happens to be Ivan’s childhood favorite.Â
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