Mike and Robyn met in 2014 and it was love at first sight. They shared a dream to one day become parents. A few years later, they got married and began their journey to start a family. After difficulty conceiving, they decided to contact a fertility clinic for some extra help. Currently, they are on their third round of IVF and hoping …
The path to having a second child has been more of an adventure than we expected. We tried on our own and with IUI, then found out we are both carriers for a genetic disease. After several rounds of IVF, we have been through a lot of the emotional and physical work that accompanies painful loss. None of this was …
Shkendie and I (Jon) met in a jazz club in 2019. After many date nights at the Chicago Symphony, we quickly made a life together based on mutual respect, shared values and a love of travel, nature, food, art and music. From the beginning, it was always easy to talk about the big stuff, i.e. family planning, religion, and our …
Welcome to the biography of a (hopefully, soon to be) single gay Jewish dad, with unwavering determination and love for adventure, who is embarking on a unique path to fatherhood. For as long as I could remember, I have nurtured a deep desire to be a father. This idea has fueled my ambition and guided many of my life choices. …
We met in June 2011 through a mutual friend and were immediately drawn to each other’s warmth, sense of humor, and commitment to social justice. Since then, we have made a home with and for each other, building a loving community and strong partnership. We were married in the summer of 2018, and soon after, began more seriously discussing our …
My husband and I have been married for three years and have been trying to conceive for two. After three failed attempts with IUI, we were faced with the decision to try another IUI cycle or move on to IVF. Unfortunately, we did not have the funds to cover an IVF cycle, but luckily a family friend told us about …
We met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Iowa in October 2016 and the rest was history. We got married in August 2021 and have been trying to start a family of our own ever since. We both come from a family of four, so having a big family of our own has always been our dream. After a year …
Our love story began as a long-distance relationship. We met online eight years ago; we lived in two different states but met for our first date in a mutual city and the rest is history. We continued our relationship living states away and seeing each other when time permitted. Months into dating, I was picked up to go on Active …
Earlier this year, we discussed the possibility of expanding our family. The associated costs tied to our care were high, but our financial counselor shared alternate options and also mentioned CCFB. With this advice and the incredible help from CCFB, things started to make sense. We’re really thankful for this opportunity and it’s given us a lot of hope. The …
The beginning of our story is not unlike many love stories; we met, fell in love almost instantly, and were married surrounded by family and friends. The middle is where we have found our challenges as the path to parenthood has encountered many twists, turns, and seemingly impassable mountains. We are hoping with the support of this grant, we will …
My husband and I have always cherished the thought of children and having a large family. We met prior to me joining the military. We were married halfway through my training in Texas, and we have been together through California, Japan and now Illinois. Sharing this experience with the love of my life has been a fun and life changing …
Sean and I met in 2018. I think what initially drew us to each other was the closeness we shared with our immediate families. We are both the middle child and have siblings with children whom we absolutely adore. Having met later in life, the conversation of marriage and children came up early. We both knew that in the very …
We met in late 2014 in stereotypical millennial fashion: online dating. After two years, it was clear we complemented each other very well and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together; however, there was one matter to settle—the desire to have children. It came as no surprise to us that building a family was a shared priority, profoundly …
We welcomed our son in June 2020 and he is truly our miracle baby. After suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss and multiple rounds of IVF, we were so excited to be pregnant with our rainbow baby. When the pandemic hit in March, we thought that would be the craziest thing to happen during our pregnancy. But, at 30 weeks pregnant, …
Bri underwent testing at 16 years old due to Unexplained Amenorrhoea. Following a blood analysis, she was referred to a reproductive endocrinologist where she was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) and Osteopenia in her spine as a result. It was then she learned she would need to use donated eggs to have children one day. Since her diagnosis, Bri …
Being a mother was always my plan. I have a storage locker full of items from my childhood and travels abroad that I am so excited to share. I have always yearned to pass down my Jewish traditions and values and to show my children the world’s cultures and countries that I have extensively explored. I am a Special Educator …
Jeremy and I (Sloane) met in 2017 and got married in December 2022. Ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted to marry the guy of my dreams and to become a mom. When I was six months old, I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that is characterized by the development of non-cancerous tumors on nerves …
Family Stories Tieanna and Christopher My husband and I met in Florida through a mutual friend. We decided to start trying for a baby as soon as we started dating as we were into our thirties, plus I am a military service member and time apart seemed longer than time together. We got married merely weeks before I had to …
Family Stories Sam and Phil We have been together for 20 life-changing years, delighted to be married for 17 of them and aching to build our family for the last 12 to share our love of children, family and traditions. Unfortunately, our path to parenthood has not been one without strife. Time after time we were wrought with unforeseen family …
Family Stories Theresa and Peter Hello! Our names are Peter and Theresa. We are so grateful to be awarded the Family Building Grant. We met at a bar that no longer exists in Evanston, Illinois. Introduced through a mutual friend, the way we began dating was slightly different and comical in some sense. Fast forward five years and we were …
Family Stories Penelope and Robert Penelope and Robert were fortunate to meet later in life and after a few years, they decided they wanted to start a family together. Unfortunately, previous fertility planning decisions caused a roadblock, and their project would now require a bit of help. Luckily, they found wonderful doctors that revealed the fascinating and miraculous world of …
We met as teenagers while working a summer job and began dating the following year. Nine years later we got married, and this year marks our sixth wedding anniversary. We always knew we wanted kids but never thought we would struggle with infertility. After being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at the age of 18, we knew there could …
Family Stories Megan and Bob Ever since I (Megan) was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming two things: a nurse and a mother. My entire nursing career thus far has been dedicated to the care of women and children. While I have had success meeting my professional nursing career goals, I have not been successful in fulfilling my second …
Family Stories Jamie and Richard We have been struggling to get pregnant for several years. After going through three years of unsuccessful intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures, it was clear we needed to go down a different path if we wanted to become pregnant. It took some time to mourn the idea that we were not going to be able to …
Family Stories Erin and Joe Our plan of having a family started when we were married in 2016. Last summer, after years of trying to conceive, we found out I was pregnant. We were over the moon! Unfortunately, we lost our dream. After the miscarriage, we sought out fertility specialists. The doctors explained to us we are part of the …
Family Stories Crystal and Sydney My wife and I have been together for 13 years and married for seven. We have always discussed having children and knew it was something that we truly wanted. In early 2021, we finally felt ready and stable enough in life with a house, vehicles, and stability in our careers (myself as a firefighter/first responder …
Family Stories Ashley and Jacob Three years ago, my husband and I were blissfully unaware of the concept of infertility and the journey it encompasses. When we found out we were pregnant for the first time in August 2019, it never occurred to us that we would never get to hold our tiny baby. We would never get to hear …
For as long as I could remember I always wanted and dreamed of being a mom to a lot of children; even in high school. I think I was the only student in my early childhood education classes to be very excited about taking home the practice baby doll. After high school, I continued my education in early childhood and …
Family Stories Ana and Aurelian In the fall of 2020, we celebrated six years together and decided we were ready to become parents. After multiple tries, our doctor advised us to try in vitro fertilization (IVF). Because of the expenses, we were not ready financially. We discussed our options with our doctor and that is how we received this opportunity. …
In The News Leading the Way in IVF Success By Chicago Coalition for Family Building The Chicago Coalition for Family Building’s grant recipients have higher age-matched IVF success rates (62% live birth rate) compared to national averages (41% live birth rate*). What makes us so successful? Most IVF grant systems allocate treatment based on a lottery or financial need alone. …
Family Stories Shimra and Jonathan We got married five years ago. We had and continue to dream of building a family together. When we began trying, we never expected that our journey for a child would span over multiple years. After a year into our journey, our frustration started to grow. Friends and family were having children and something just …
Family Stories Lyndsey and Michael Growing up as an only child, it has always been my dream to have at least two kids. I was fortunate to get pregnant with my daughter on our first try (with my ex-husband). I had an easy pregnancy, labor and delivery, and my daughter is healthy and happy. After going through a divorce, I …
Family Stories Stephanie and Ezra As a queer couple who does not have sperm in our relationship, we have encountered a significant amount of medical, psychological, and spiritual barriers to starting our family building journey. Miraculously, the first time we tried to get pregnant (via IUI), Stephanie conceived. It truly felt like a basheret (meant-to-be) moment. Sadly, Stephanie miscarried at …
Family Stories Tessa and Josh We have been planning our family since three months into our relationship. Discussions about how many kids we would have and what to name them were happening before we had ever even spent our first holiday together! While we did broach the topic of adoption (if need be), we never imagined we’d be having the …
Family Stories Zhi and Casey We met each other in 2012 as I was exiting the United States Marine Corps after 13 years of service. We started dating and blossomed into marriage. We both always wanted to have kids and have been trying since marriage. However, we had no luck and came to find out I had low sperm count …
Family Stories Lexie and Jonathan My husband, Jon, and I are high school sweethearts. We have been married for five years now, however our first couple years of marriage we were dealing with fighting off cancer. Jon was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in September of 2015. We were engaged during this time but we were not going to stop cancer …
Family Stories Jena and Molly Our journey together began in 2016 when we met through a dating app. It didn’t take us long to meet in person and we quickly became friends. After just being friends for several months, we stopped fighting the inevitable and began dating in 2017. Like most couples, we began discussing our future, and thankfully we …
Family Stories Dana and Sam We married in 2017 and knew that we wanted to start our family as soon as possible. When two years spent trying had passed without any success, we scheduled an appointment with a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist. That first evaluation would help diagnose Dana with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Hypothyroidism. Finally, we had some …
Family Stories Lauren and Sean Sean and I met over 20 years ago and are high school sweethearts; we bonded over our love of music and art. We always talked about starting a family – we knew we wanted to be parents and were excited at the idea of getting married and starting our own. We wanted to wait until …
Family Stories Cecilia and Manuel Our journey began in 2017 when I unexpectedly became pregnant. We were ecstatic at the thought of becoming parents. Everything seemed to be going well but, a little over two months after finding out I was pregnant my doctor realized that my HCG levels were higher that expected and decided to send me to do …
Family Stories Kimya and Darryl Growing up, I was the oldest grandchild in our home. I grew up in a big family home—grandparents, mother, aunt, uncle, and cousins. I am my mother’s only child. At one my point, my aunt and cousins moved away and that moment I knew I would have more than one child. My mom passed away …
Family Stories Victoria and Dumitru On October 13, 2021 we celebrated our 11th anniversary together, my husband’s 30th birthday, and our 3rd year of infertility. We started to actively try in October 2018 and bought a house in May 2019 hoping to fill it with children. After a year passed, we were very confused that we are not pregnant yet …
Family Stories Kayla and Evan Kayla and Evan started their journey to create a family in October 2018. Soon after, Kayla had to have surgery to remove ovarian cysts. During the surgery, it was confirmed that Kayla has endometriosis throughout her abdomen. Although it can be more difficult to get pregnant, they decided to keep trying naturally. The dream of …
Family Stories Meetu and Aditya Aditya and I both grew up in Mumbai, a big city in India. Being from different areas in Mumbai, we did not know each other growing up. Being a bright/naughty kid in school with a keen interest in science/engineering, Aditya came to the United States to pursue his undergraduate studies. Aditya belongs to a close …
Family Stories Dani and Matt When Dani (pictured to the right) was seven weeks old, she began having difficulty breathing and was rushed to the hospital. Upon arrival, a team of doctors and nurses immediately started working on Dani who was in complete cardiac collapse. Dani spent three and a half weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit fighting for …