Waging a Living: Mike Jones on a Quest

Detroit, MI- Meet Michael D. Jones, a born and raised Detroiter, scholastic athlete in track, football, and basketball, who served his country honorably after enlisting in the Marines at age 17. Upon returning home from Iraq Mike received his Masters in Electrical Engineering from Wayne State & Doctor of Law degree (J.D.) from University of Detroit Mercy Law School where he became an intellectual property attorney. He is a father of a bright 8-year-old boy named Michael, who lives with his mother. HERE IS HIS CROWD-FUNDING PAGE Mike is currently unemployed and is roughing it in his car until he can get his own place. He is drug and alcohol free and is looking for a hand-up to pay the Michigan Bar reinstatement fees(hasn't practiced in 5 years) of $450 to be able to practice law again. He is committed to supporting himself, his family, and getting back on his feet. He has been unable to find gainful employment since 2007 when the law firm he worked for laid off employees during the financial crises. KNOW ANYONE HIRING? Mike is an excellent project manager, has a focused, positive, and exemplary work ethic, and has put his engineering background to good use most recently as a contract employee of Xerox working at GM downtown- that position lasted 6 months. He is weighed down by crippling student loan debt and pays child support, even though he doesn't have consistent employment or stable housing. The VA said he made "too much money" to qualify for their Vash housing program. Please Share what you can or Pass this along to folks in Your Network to Support this Veteran! FUNDS & SUPPORT for MIKE -$450 to renew his license so he can practice law again in MI -$400 to repair his 21 year old car that is falling apart -Leads for jobs, contacts, & words of encouragment, may be sent directly to Mike at mikejonese@yahoo.com http://courts.mi.gov/courts/michigansupremecourt/ble/pages/default.aspx We think that is a pretty humble and reasonable request. We at Boots on the Ground are a small team of veterans and civilians and can't support every veteran or person in need we come into contact with. We are bootstrapping in every sense & request our community of supporters lift up this veteran by showing, and saying with action, “thanks for your service”. SERVING THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED: Mike was put on my path two years ago when I was walking down Woodward and he asked me for bus fare. After learning that this Marine veteran had been out looking for work all week, all month, and had been in between jobs since the great recession, and was taking that bus to go sleep in his car, I remember thinking, "Someone has to do something about this." This was one of the 1st veterans we worked alongside as Boots on the Ground (DetroitBoots.com) was starting out. Our mission is to hire, house, and heal veterans overcoming homelessness to build sustainable boots and other products. We've connected Mike to short-term living wage work and employed him part-time whenever funds were available. He has done all of our trademark research (and some for our friends) and he has provided exceptional legal council to our team. We would hire him full-time if we could- Boots on the Ground has two part-time employees and is concurrently raising funds to launch our boot production this Fall 2016. We hope car dealerships learn about his plight, maybe a law office or company in need of someone with an MBA is looking for a great team member ready to showcase his talents, or a landlord looking for a great tenant who can offer affordable rent; any support will make all the difference.