Help us raise money

Friends, Family & Colleagues, 
As most of you are aware, Mike & I lost our son Michael Phillip "MPC" on July 11, 2022.  For reasons we may never know, he didn't quite make it to earth to meet all the wonderful people who already loved him.  This has been the most challenging time of our lives, and nothing even comes close.  

Everyone that knows Mike & I knows that we are strong, determined and focused on what we want - whether it's conquering a new workout, renovating a house, fighting for a cause, or most importantly building our family, which we will never stop fighting for.  But even the strongest and most determined people can't imagine being faced with losing a child.   We have been asked over and over again "how are you functioning?", "how can you go on after something so terrible?" and quite honestly, we don't have the answers! We both get up every day and try to put one foot in front of the other which is the best we can do right now.  

When I was released from the hospital, I was given a folder of "resources" which I chose not to look at for a couple of weeks.  During my follow up visit with Northwestern, the doctor strongly recommended we look through the folder.  In my mind, we didn't need resources - we had friends and family coming out of the woodwork to support us.  But after looking through all of the paperwork in the folder, I came to a realization: many people don't have the support system that we have, and quite frankly, many people aren't as strong as we are.  This sparked an idea in my head - I need to help others who are going through this.  But how?  

Helping others is a relative term. As I started to think back over the last couple of years, I thought about all that we have been through with trying to build our family, and how all of you have helped us get through - whether it was stopping by to visit, sending us dinner, or just sending a text to let us know you were thinking about us. I decided it was time to get in the driver's seat (like I usually do) and advocate for a cause. I am not a huge charity person by any means - meaning, I don't see the value in handing over money to a large corporation and not seeing where it goes. I started talking to many organizations in the Chicago-land area with this in mind, and after much discussion, I have decided to partner with Missing Pieces (https://www.missingpiecesgrief.org/). What I like about this organization is that it's a new, smaller, local group where 100% of its proceeds go directly to the recipients. As a recipient of the support provided by the Missing Pieces organization myself, I can attest to the benefit of what this organization provides.

I am contacting you all asking for your support in the Butterfly Run that takes place in October, which is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Here is the link to read a bit more about the event: (https://raceroster.com/events/2022/60954/2022-butterfly-run-walk-flutter) if you are interested. To me, this is an event where we can all come together to honor MPC and any other children we have lost, as well as build awareness and support of this mission to create change in the pregnancy and infant loss community. I highly recommend reading the background section of the website (above) to get a better understanding of what the Butterfly Run supports.  

Event Details: What: Butterfly Run When: Sunday, October 2, 2022 from 9-10am Where: Busse Woods / Ned Brown Grove #26
Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I am asking you all to join my team, Team MPC to participate in the event, 2022 Butterfly Run, Walk + Flutter: 
https://raceroster.com/events/2022/60954/2022-butterfly-run-walk-flutter/register?team=425636
If you plan to participate in the walk/run, please email me to let me know and include your t-shirt size.  Note, you don't need to purchase a shirt through this site, we will provide them. 

This cause is very near and dear to our hearts, and we appreciate any and all support, in any form that you choose.  No obligation whatsoever, as I understand time and resources are limited.  If you have any questions about the organization or event, please contact me directly.  I look forward to taking this next step in our journey, and hopefully seeing everyone on October 2! 
-Nina, Mike, Gemma & MPC