Help Hilary and Sam grow their family!

What you already know: 

- How epically awesome Hilary and Sam are--their kindness, fierceness, and care for their communities and particularly for the marginalized. (To note just one example that, again, y'all already know: Hilary has been a *fierce* advocate for survivors of sexual violence, in her work as the director of theological integrity with Into Account , and in her scholarship and teaching.) 

- The shit that they are both going through right now, with Sam's diagnosis of cancer of the brain and spinal cord, and the treatment he has been and will continue to be going through for it. (For more on this, see Sam's Caring Bridge site.)

What you may or may not know: 

- They're trying to start a family! For a whole host of reasons, they are needing to do IVF to do that, and IVF is *expensive,* to say the least. Plus, they're not exactly rolling in the dough at the moment, as healthcare in this country, even with the best employers, is not cheap. 

So, given how awesome they are and the range of ways that they have helped so many (including, perhaps--likely--people in your direct circles, and maybe even you!), let's help them. 

The cost for IVF is *way* more than 5k, but figured we should start here and see what we can do, as this would be a huge help and gift to them in the midst of everything. 

A note from Hilary and Sam: 

For a number of years, we’ve been trying to figure out if there is a medically possible way for us to raise a little kiddo without passing on the genetic condition that has led to early life cancers for Sam, his mom, his sister, and his grandpa. We explored all the options out there, and for various, complex reasons we thought the answer was going to be no. But, at exactly the same time we learned of Sam’s cancer, we also learned independently that there is a way. It involves a complex version of IVF and very smart geneticists.

We sat with the news of Sam’s cancer. We sat with the news that it is, after all, possible that we could parent a child who would not need to fear cancer as a young one. We decided that going ahead and trying to meet that little kiddo is the way for us. And since Sam’s cancer is not expected to ever be fully cured, we decided it’s important to us to hop to it asap.

The full cost for this process is, at minimum, $20k. Full disclosure: Hilary’s parents are helping, and the LiveStrong foundation picked up the tab for most of the necessary medications. We weren’t planning on asking others for IVF support because folks are already showing up in droves for us on the cancer front. But, Brandy (the creator of this page) is fabulous, and we couldn’t say no when she asked to send this invitation out into the world.

So, here we are, and here we go. Whether or not you’re able to support us in this way we love and have so much gratitude for the village of folks walking with us through this full and tender time.