Ryan and Chaim: Building Pillow Forts

Ryan and Chaim Tempesco met in 2019 and were married in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Since then, they’ve shared countless adventures, traveling to destinations like the Amazon Rainforest and the Dead Sea in Israel. In 2024, they decided to make Chicago their home to be closer to communities they care about, which led them to connect with …

Ryan and Chaim: Building Pillow Forts

Ryan and Chaim Tempesco met in 2019 and were married in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Since then, they’ve shared countless adventures, traveling to destinations like the Amazon Rainforest and the Dead Sea in Israel. In 2024, they decided to make Chicago their home to be closer to communities they care about, which led them to connect with …

Chrissy and Alex: Normalizing Infertility

Chrissy and Alex met in 2008 at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, and quickly formed a strong connection. After graduation, they pursued teaching careers in different states — Alex in Maryland and Chrissy in North Carolina. Despite the distance, they grew closer, bonding over their shared love for education and dreams of starting a family. In 2014, they moved to …

Todd and Trent: Love, Resilience and Family

Todd and Trent’s journey together began in 2016 when they connected on a dating app. Both Todd and Trent were seeking something genuine, and their shared values and connection quickly became evident. After their initial date, they found that their interests, humor, and life goals aligned in ways that felt natural and fulfilling. In 2018, Todd proposed to Trent during …

Max and Dan: A Therapist and a Transit Planner’s Journey to Parenthood

Max and Dan are residents of Chicago’s delightful Andersonville neighborhood, who work as a self-employed psychotherapist (Max) and civil servant in the Federal Transit Administration (Dan). When Max and Dan met in 2015, things got serious quickly, and one of Max’s first big questions for him was whether he was interested in having children. When Dan said yes, Max knew …

Haley and Eric: Navigating Pregnancy and Loss

We met at work in 2015, but our story started in December 2016 after a company holiday party ignited a spark between us. In February 2020, we welcomed our bernedoodle Otis into the family, and have spent countless hours at the park ever since. We got married in July 2022 and set off on a few international and domestic adventures …

Megan and Danny: Holding onto Hope

My husband, Danny, and I have been together for 11 wonderful years and have been married for 7 of them. We share our home with a three-year-old dog and an eight-year-old cat, who bring so much joy and love into our lives. Together, we love traveling, experimenting with new recipes, attending concerts, and seeking adventure through activities like ziplining. We …

Chicago Coalition for Family Building

Larissa and Andrew: Facing Cancer and Facing Hope

Larissa and Andrew are a loving couple who have been married nearly 12 years. They love traveling, spending time with friends and enjoying the comforts of home with their three cats. Over the years there have been wonderful memories made, but also major struggles as Andrew is a non-Hodgkin Lymphoma survivor and Larissa is currently fighting her own cancer battle. …

Chrissy and Alex: Normalizing Infertility

Chrissy and Alex met in 2008 at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, and quickly formed a strong connection. After graduation, they pursued teaching careers in different states — Alex in Maryland and Chrissy in North Carolina. Despite the distance, they grew closer, bonding over their shared love for education and dreams of starting a family. In 2014, they moved to …

Keva and Kynise: How a Grant Made Parenthood Possible

It all started at a daycare in Peoria, IL where we both worked. As time went on, Kynise and I became friends. Friends turned into best friends that turned into a seven years and counting relationship! Through the years, Keva and Kynise lived in Peoria and then moved to Chicago in 2018 to begin their family. Keva is an Assistant …

Hannah and Dan: A Story of Unexplained Infertility

Hannah and I have come to know that our story is not uncommon among the many people seeking to start a family. We have been together for eight years, slowly building our lives and home together. Three years ago, we sat together joyfully and planned what we thought would be the start of building our family to fill the home …

Haley and Adam: From Game Night to Family Dreams

Hi everyone! We’re Adam and Haley! We were first introduced back in 2012 by my older brother during our weekly family and friends’ game night. We clicked almost instantly and soon started dating.  In 2018, we got married and started trying to expand our family. After 5 years of trying with no success we learned we had unexplained infertility. We …

Chicago Coalition for Family Building

Emily and Max: Preventing the Past

Max and Emily met in 2019 in Washington, DC, and have since built a life together in Chicago with their Goldendoodle puppy, Melo (named in honor of Carmelo Anthony, a nod to Max’s hometown, Syracuse). Before meeting Max, Emily learned that she inherited the CHEK2 mutation from her mother, who tragically lost her battle with breast cancer at the age …

Chrissy and Michael: Chosen by Love

Michael was willing to miss a March Madness Purdue Basketball game to go on a date with Chrissy, so that’s how we knew our relationship was going somewhere. After months of building a strong friendship, we were both pretty certain that we had met the person we would spend forever with. We got married during the pandemic and while we …

Nicole and Mike: A Genetic Testing Story

Hi everyone! We’re Nicole and Mike. We met five years ago through Bumble, with an invisible string that included us both going to the same junior high, high school, and college just three years apart.  Through testing, we found out that IVF is our only option to conceive at this time. We started our first IVF cycle in May, and …

Soraya and Daniel: From Cancer to Parenthood

Soraya and Dani’s love story began in yoga class one Saturday morning in the spring of 2017. Their yin-yang relationship has seen the couple through both joyous and difficult times, and has always managed to bring the couple closer together. Dani is a professional jazz musician who moved to the United States from Israel at the age of 17 to …

Courtney and Aaron: A Modern Romcom’s Path to IVF and Hope

To set the scene, it is Chicago, 2012. Courtney is living downtown, and Aaron is in from Wyoming visiting his sister, who just so happens to be Courtney’s best friend. “Call Me Maybe” is blaring on the radio, life is good. But fate had other plans, and they wouldn’t meet again until 2021 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fast-forward to a …

Gabriella and Kelly: Building a Brave and Kind Future

When we met in college in 2013, we quickly bonded over music and our similar senses of humor. Our strong foundation as friends (and the crushes we had on one another) lead us to beginning our relationship. Eight years later, we’re married and living in the city with our dog, Scout. Gabriella works in the non-profit sector, assisting immigrant and …

Allyson and Matt: Breaking Genetic Chains

Allyson and Matt’s story began in St. Louis when they were 12 years old, and their families met through the synagogue. Shortly after, they started at the same middle school. They became friends and then dated throughout high school. College took them in separate directions, but after graduating, they reunited at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Allyson jumped into Matt’s arms, and …

Amanda and Courtney: Sharing the Magic of the World

Amanda and Courtney’s love story, which began in 2012 with a deep connection blossomed into a lifelong partnership when they finally tied the knot in 2021 the only fashion they knew how — a grand adventure! Together, they’ve explored the world with a shared sense of adventure, always seeking new experiences and cherishing the beauty of nature. Now, they are …

Corie and Kevin: Path to Parenthood with Donor Eggs

Corie and Kevin’s journey began in 2012, when they were seniors in high school. After a few years of uncertainty about their future together, they started dating in 2015. When they got married in 2021, they knew they wanted to start a family right away. After a year of trying with no success, they discovered that Corie had a pituitary …

Prachi and Dev: From Military Service to Motherhood

Prachi and Dev’s story began in 2020, a year filled with promise and the excitement of new beginnings. From the outset, Dev and Prachi were united by a deep bond, forged through shared values and dreams. As they navigated life together, they encountered numerous challenges, each one strengthening their relationship and deepening their commitment to one another. However, none of …

Sara: Building a Jewish Family

I am beyond excited to have received a grant from JUF! I have wanted to become a mom since a young age and have had difficulty making it happen. The support provided by JUF to help me on my journey to motherhood is incredibly appreciated. While the process might look different than I expected, I am thrilled to start my …

Lindsey and Ashley: A Pandemic Love Story

Lindsey and Ashley met back in 2012 at work, but their love story truly took flight during the pandemic. With countless Covid-era hangouts that turned into a deep connection, they eventually become a couple in 2020. They took the next step in 2021 with their engagement, and by 2022, they were thrilled to marry and begin building their life together. …

Melissa and John: Redefining Parenthood

​​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 …