Take Leah Montgomery, whose family launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical expenses after she was struck by a car and lost her unborn baby.
And then there's the case of Edward Zimmerman, a marijuana grower who was murdered. The GoFundMe page created by his loved ones was intended to help cover his funeral expenses.
But in the case of Kelly Harms and Kimberly Buckner, their GoFundMe pages are about life, not death.
Harms is looking for money to help pay for in-vitro fertilization, while Buckner is raising funds to finance an adoption.
The women's stories were just featured on 7News, whose report is below. But here's the intro on Harms's page, entitled "Dreaming of Baby IVF Harms:"
Hello. We are Kelly, Jason and our westie bestie Scotch. We have been together for 14 years and married for 8.5 years. We love our pup as he is our baby for now. We work full time in insurance, keep our lives busy with family, friends, Broncos, running and enjoying movies together. All we need or want in life to complete our dreams is a baby. My husband and I are doing our final attempt in March to have a family biologically — very expensive IVF, which our insurance won't cover. We have gone through years of treatment and month after month of heartbreaking news. I have a condition called PCOS and my body won't respond to any other treatments. We are dreaming of a life with a child and are asking if you have the ability to even donate $5. We will be using all funds to go directly to the fertility center here in Denver. Please help us to fulfill a dream. Thank you so much and keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers. Please feel free to share with your friends. The total cost is $27,000 so we would be so grateful for any help you could provide. We will be seeing Dr. Surrey at Colorado Center of Reproductive Medicine and the initial consultation is the 20th of January. We are withdrawing the funds on March 23rd in order to pay for the procedure.At this writing, just over $1,400 has been donated toward a goal of $10,000.
Buckner's goal is similar, but her approach is different, as she describes on her GoFundMe page, "Help Kimberly Adopt Her Child:"
For me, adoption isn't a last resort. When I first went to a Kenyan orphanage 8 years ago, I felt the mother in me rise up, and my heart has since connected with children in Guatemala and orphans in Cambodia.Thus far, Bucker has raised nearly $3,200 toward a goal of $7,000.
These experiences made me confident that I could be a great mom to a child that wasn't mine by birth. For years I felt I would adopt, but the timing wasn't right. However this past Thanksgiving, through lots of prayer, I came to a certainty that I have a child I am meant to raise, but someone else will carry him or her. And if I can give a safe, loving home to a child who needs it, and a fresh start to a birth mother, I'm honored to do that. I'm so excited! I've started the adoption process and have my home study completed, and now the waiting begins. In that waiting, I need to get the funds to finalize the adoption when I am chosen by a birth mom, and to support myself and baby during my maternity leave, which is unpaid for adoptive mothers. Oh my gosh, the process is costly both financially and emotionally, but in the end will be so worth it! I considered foster-to-adopt, but my work schedule doesn't allow the flexibility I'd need to be able to care for foster children. I can't afford international adoption, so I'm doing a domestic infant adoption. I will get to bring baby home from the hospital, and have already bought a crib and changing table, because I couldn't wait :-) I want to bring joy to this baby and raise a good citizen of the world. Anything you can do to help will be so appreciated!
Warmly, Kimberly
To kearn more about Harms's story, click here. Those interested in more details about Buckner's mission can find it by clicking here. Look below to see the 7News report.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
