​​Melissa and John matched on a dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, in March 2020. They quickly bonded over a shared sense of humor and positive outlook on life. They also enjoy living a healthy and active lifestyle together. Everything fell into place, and they married in their backyard with their closest family members in attendance. After being unable to achieve …

I am so grateful for the help of CCFB/JUF in my journey to becoming a parent. I am an educator who conducts research on Jewish languages. I come from a long line of strong Jewish women, and I am looking forward to creating my own mishpacha (מִשׁפָּחָה – family). I hope to update soon with good news! Lily is a …

Nicole and Alex are a couple of nerds living in one of Chicago’s suburbs. Nicole has her LCPC and works for a nonprofit mental-health outreach agency, and Alex edits books. They share a love of board games and their three cats: Rogue, Siryn, and Pixie (whose names are all both fantasy terms and X-Men characters). The couple first met at …

We met back in 2015 and during our almost nine years together, we have partnered through life’s challenges, from struggling with personal health issues, through pandemic isolation and job changes, and surviving the loss of a parent. We have always been a dynamic pair, by each other’s side whenever it counts. You won’t find one of us without the strong …

Our journey together began in Chicago where we first met in 2015. We married in June 2020, during the peak of Covid, and later on were able to safely celebrate our marriage with friends and family in June 2022. Eager to start a family, we were excited to become pregnant in November 2022. During the third trimester, abnormalities were detected …

Rus and Yosi met nine years ago and have been married for almost eight years. Rus was born and raised in NYC while Yosi is a native Midwesterner. Together, they love traveling the world, and also enjoy cooking and baking. Rus and Yosi have experienced infertility in multiple forms over the last several years and are extremely appreciative of the …

Eugene and I (Jenna) met online in 2015 and have been inseparable ever since. We share a love for family, food, travel, and our dog, Maddie.  We completed comprehensive genetic testing in 2023 and learned we are both carriers for the same genetic disorder. This news was quite a surprise to both of us, as well as our families. After …

Carley and Ethan’s journey together began at the University of Illinois, where an AEPHi/AEPi event brought them together. Both hailing from the north Chicago suburbs and pursuing degrees in Economics, their connection was immediate and enduring. After graduating, their adventure took them to several cities – from San Francisco to Los Angeles, then back to Chicago, and finally settling in …

Hi all! We’re Brianna and Ben.  We’re city-loving Chicagoans who met through an app (Coffee Meets Bagel) 7.5 years ago, and had our first date at Jeni’s Ice Cream on Southport Ave (try the Brown Butter Almond Brittle!).  Our lives have since become centered around our little Southport Corridor, including getting married at our favorite restaurant (Ella Elli) in 2020 …

We met back in 1999, when we were both in fourth grade. After a long friendship and an even longer courtship (including five years of long-distance dating), we got married in December 2015. As we began planning to expand our family, it became clear IVF would be our most likely path to having a successful outcome.  We are so excited …

The first night we met was at an event called “Jews and Brews” where we felt the chemistry right away. After sitting down at our table, we ended up talking for so long that when we finally looked away from each other we realized that everyone else who had started the night at our table had long since left the …

We have always wanted to be mothers but as lesbians, we knew our journey to parenthood would be different than the paths of our straight friends. We are so grateful that the CCFB/JUF grant is helping us to complete our queer bayit ne’eman b’yisrael (faithful Jewish family).  We are both deeply involved in the Jewish community and excited to raise …

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2018 at age 30. My daughter (our 1st and only child) was born in May 2017, and I found a lump while I was breastfeeding her. Soon after that, I was also diagnosed with a BRCA2 mutation, and elected to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. In the window between my surgery …

Thanks to the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, Kim and Jeff were proud to welcome their twins, Eve and Emilia, in 2019!

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 …

Our first due date was supposed to be in June of 2019. We had been dreaming of a family and were really, really excited when we found out we were pregnant. Our 8-week ultrasound looked good and the doctor told us our baby was strong. After we found out we were expecting, we did genetic testing through the Sarnoff Center …

We are so thankful to have heard about the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, and to have the opportunity to apply for a grant. When we learned about Katie’s carrier status and made the decision to pursue IVF, we had serious concerns about the cost. As we look to start a family, being selected to receive a grant would be …

My name is Aset and my husband is Emperor. Our fertility journey started before we even knew we were on it! We met our freshman year in college and immediately connected. At the end of our first year, we found out we were pregnant! However, that pregnancy unfortunately ended in a miscarriage. After that loss, we decided to just live …

Our journey together began in 2006, while in high school.  We were two teenagers who fell in love and dreamt about having a large family.  It has been our dream since we were kids ourselves.  After many years of dating, we were married in 2016 and have been blessed with two children.  Being parents is our greatest blessing. A few …

When I (Laura) was 35, I froze my eggs in Chicago thinking I would have an insurance policy for the future. I had to do three rounds of IVF to get a good amount to freeze. Fast forward to 2019 when I met Ed, we were engaged in 2021, and we decided not to waste time and start our journey …

When asked as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always– without hesitation– responded that I wanted to be a mom. Since childhood, I have had the opportunity to travel to six countries, live in four different states in every region of the US, graduate from two masters programs, explore my identity and ambitions, and …

My husband and I have been together since college and have been married since our mid-twenties. We made our living as actors and musicians for much of our 20s and 30s, and delayed starting a family until we felt we could take on the financial responsibility of being parents. We had no idea how difficult it was going to be …

We met in 2014 shortly after graduating from our respective colleges. We lived in numerous different cities across the States and finally found home in Chicago. We got married in 2020 and were excited to start our family with the values taught in Judaism. After a year of trying to get pregnant without success, we chose to pursue fertility treatment. …

Jackie and Isaac met when we were in third grade at their synagogue. We were in the same class from third grade on. Isaac asked Jackie to go to a Coldplay concert when they were juniors in high school. Despite the fact that it was very loud and we were there to listen to the music, all we did was …

Our relationship began in June 2018 through a dating app called Coffee Meets Bagel, in what we truly believe to be an act of fate. Daniel had just moved back to Chicago to be closer to his family after living eight years on the West Coast. Julie, who had been living in Chicago for many years, was getting ready to …

Marty and Ree live in Chicago and are active in both their professional lives and personal pursuits. They are excited to grow their family and feel grateful for the opportunity that CCFB has provided them. Marty and Ree look forward to giving back to the group! Marty and Ree are recipients of the Path to Parenthood Grant from the Jewish …

We were married in 2018. The excitement of our newlywed journey came to a shocking halt when we learned we were pregnant while in the midst of a traumatic miscarriage. After some time and feeling like we were ready, the disappointment piled up with every negative pregnancy test. We never thought that our journey to parenthood would span multiple years, …

We met when we were teenagers. Fell in love in college but thought we should do a little growing up, finish college, live some life but were always each other’s best friend. Seventeen years later, we knew we obviously couldn’t go through this life without each other. And now we have been so happily married for 12 year. We had …

At age 32, I was diagnosed with two forms of breast cancer. I had minimal family history and tested negative for the BRCA gene as well as nine other genetic risk mutations. As I had tested negative for genetic markers and it is unknown what caused the cancer as well as my potential risk factors for the future, I have …

Rachel and Joe met through JDate in 2013 and immediately fell in love. A year later they were engaged and in 2015 they got married! In 2017, they were ready to begin having children. Rachel went off of birth control and could not ovulate on her own. After waiting about 7 months, the couple saw a fertility specialist who diagnosed …

We very luckily met in 2013 through some mutual friends, and happily married in May of 2016. As individuals, we are both very family oriented, and that priority has strengthened as a couple. We quickly knew we wanted to build a family of our own, and understood we would need some help along the way. Weighing all the family building …

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 …