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S.O.S.: Save the Megasharks!

OAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES , August 21, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Video games have great villains. They’re powerful and threatening, and it takes skill to beat them. Dedicated gamers Matthew Clyne and Krista Hauser know how the games are played and they know that in the gaming world, players need to always be on the lookout for what’s next. But life seemed to smile on them in San Francisco. Krista was hired by Fifth Column Games, a start-up game studio, thanks to the attention she’d gotten developing Save Chuck, Retake Mass Effect, and her following on Twitter. In 2012, Matthew found his niche when he was hired as a software engineer by Fifth Column Games. They had the jobs of their dreams, and then they met each other, and that made the dream real. But what they didn’t know was that there was a villain lurking in Silicon Valley. Fifth Column Games was having trouble meeting its budget. Call it the recession, call it bad times for tech jobs, call it lay-offs. After Matthew lost his job and then Krista lost hers, they call it not being able to pay the rent, losing health insurance, and not having money to buy groceries. If this were a game, it would be time to Save the Megasharks.

For a time, they were able to scrape by on savings, unemployment compensation, and some contract work. Then their savings ran out. Now Save the Megasharks is a real-life endeavor seeking $15,000 in a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign so that they can raise enough money to stay in San Francisco until their lease runs out in February and avoid filing for bankruptcy and risk destroying their credit, or losing the place where they live. Those are the major emergencies facing them. There’s also the fact that Krista, who has an autoimmune disease and doesn’t have any more health coverage, couldn’t afford to pay the out-of-pocket costs when she contracted strep; it’s at the point where she’s taking half-dosages of her prescription medicine to make it last longer. They’re job hunting, but can’t afford the cost of public transit to get into the city for interviews.

It’s not as if Krista and Matthew haven’t had to deal with hard times before. When Matthew was in school, his father fell seriously ill, entering the in-and-out cycle of in-patient care. Matthew was attending DigiPen Institute of Technology. But taking care of his father required additional resources, so Matthew took a job working at a geothermal consulting firm. When Krista was a child, her family moved frequently, making it hard to call any one place home. Coming from a culture where women couldn’t grasp their right to follow their own dreams, Krista didn’t realize that she was entitled to enjoy hope and happiness. But after a devastating divorce, she summoned up her courage and decided that instead of investing in despair and fear, she was going to give her dreams a try. They’ve met life on equal terms and they haven’t given up.

They both want to work, and their work experience bears out the fact that they bring skills, creativity, imagination and dedication to the work force. Matthew’s seven years in the geothermal industry saw him develop cutting-edge technologies that advanced the progress of renewable energy. He’s the author of various peer-reviewed papers and studies, one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While employed at Fifth Column Games, Matthew showed his versatility as a software engineer by adding features and content to live games like Pawn Stars and Top Shot, developing client-side skills and adding new server-side abilities. Krista’s tech savvy background has benefitted a variety of employers: she has been a social media coordinator, developing marketing strategies, campaigns, and outreach programs; a community developer in charge of establishing and maintaining all social media platforms; and a community manager at Fifth Column Games.

In the meantime, crowdfunding donors who understand that it’s not easy to ask for help have stepped up to the plate, and the campaign is 52% of the way toward its goal. They’ve received donations of groceries, help with the rent, and comfort and emotional support from the crowdfunding community and their friends. With a little more help, they can ride out the rough seas and find a safe harbor.

About Save the Megasharks
Krista Hauser and Matthew Clyne (www.gofundme.com/megashark) are two laid-off workers in the video game field who have turned to GoFundMe for a crowdfunding campaign that will help them put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and seek medical attention when they’re ill. As they continue to hunt for jobs following the crash of the tech field in Silicon Valley, they are hoping that the generosity and support of crowdfunding donors and people who learn of their plight will help them get over this rough spot until they can find jobs and get back on their feet.

Krista Hauser
Save the Megasharks
510.282.9809
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