Men Having Babies, Inc

BRUSSELS - That's a Wrap! ???? ?? It was a full house at the Radisson Collection Hotel in Brussels over the weekend where prospective fathers from 12 countries in Europe came to learn about their parenting options. MHB would like to thank all of the attendees for coming and trusting us we hope you keep in touch and can't wait to see your families evolve. We would like to thank all the speakers, the dads speakers and the parents who came over with their kids to inspire us. Also a big THANK YOU to our wonderful volunteers this weekend Steve, Kevin & Alexis, Dennis & Paul, Ben, Henrik & Balazs and Josh Last but not least we would like to thank our sponsors without who this program (and many other programs that we offer) couldn't have been be possible: [Platinum Sponsors] Circle Surrogacy and San Diego Fertility Center, [Gold Sponsors] California Fertility Partners (Pinnacle Fertility), Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, Western Fertility Institute, Northwest Surrogacy Center, Victory Reproductive Care, Hatch Fertility - Surrogacy & Egg Donation, Simple Surrogacy, LLC, ALL LOVE SURROGACY LLC, SURRO CONNECTIONS INCORPORATED, IARC Surrogacy, Create Fertility Centre, Fertility Institute of San Diego, Utah Fertility Center, Babies Come True, Family Formers Inc, New England Fertility Institute, LOS ANGELES REPRODUCTIVE CENTER, Northwestern Medicine Fertility and Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA Network) Vermont [Silver Sponsors] Fertility Specialists of Texas, Reproductive Centers of America, Egg Helpers, All Families Surrogacy, LLC, Flowerday Fertility Law, Klein Fertility Law, APC, International Reproductive Law Group, Extraordinary Conceptions International Surrogacy & Egg Donation Agency, Fertility Law in Canada, International Fertility Law Group, Inc.. Learn more about our programs and resources for gay men at menhavingbabies.org See you all in 2025! #menhavingbabies #gaydads #surrogacy

In her day-to-day job, Wendie helps gay singles and couples (like these guys...) become dads through surrogacy. This Sunday she will run the New York City Marathon to raise funds for Men Having Babies' work in making surrogacy more equitable for gay men. Cheer Wendie with as little as a cup-of-coffee-worth of donation: https://lnkd.in/gWPEHiJu "I started training in March," Wendie tells us, "I prep using Heather Harts 24 week training plan 'from Couch to Marathon.'?Between long-COVID and my son's illness, I felt it was best for me to use a slow build, science-based method (which is a far cry from my hard-core fitness enthusiast / adrenaline junkie past, lol)." Getting Covid in 2020 caused permanent damage to Wendie's lungs and immune system. This Marathon for her is more than just a run; it's all about FINISHING it, without looking at the time. "My goal, beyond awareness for MHB, was to get back into challenging myself with events that really push both the body and the mind.?Being sick for the first time in my life, which also caring for a child recently diagnosed with a terrible illness, really took my mind and body out of the fitness game for the last 2 years."?I was ready to get back and overcome a lot of the challenges, and boy were they." Support Wendie: https://lnkd.in/gWPEHiJu #menhavingbabies #nycmarathon #lgbtcharity #nonprofit #fundraiser #fundraising

MHB commends multinational transportation company?Uber Technologies, Inc.?for giving its European employees LGBTQ+ inclusive benefit of 10,000 Euro for assistance with IVF and surrogacy. Dads Dan and Kevin were able to enjoy this financial support in their surrogacy journey for their daughter, Marisa. “Uber in the US provides a much more comprehensive family planning package,” Dan, an employee at Uber, told us. “But in Europe, Uber provides a one-time 10,000 Euro (before taxes) inclusive family planning benefit.?Also, Uber offers 18 weeks paid parental leave, 4 weeks "work from anywhere", and immigration support (we used this to get a Netherlands visa for our daughter, who is a US citizen like we are).” Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/gkYfttGQ #employersurrogacybenefits #gaydads #surrogacy #menhavingbabies #uber #lgbtcommunity

Proud guncle James is running the TCS New York City Marathon this year to help raise funds for Men Having Babies - an official nonprofit charity at the marathon. You can support James with as little as a 'cost of a cup of coffee' donation at tinyurl.com/nyc24james4mhb The money James raises will go to MHB's advocacy efforts, including legislation efforts for fertility equality for gay men and benefits at work toolkit for employees. It will also help fund our Gay Parenting Assistance Program. (read about all these initiatives and more on menhavingbabies.org) "I started training mid August, but was sidelined by a knee injury, so it's thrown me off a bit," James tells us. "I'm a marathon oldtimer, so I tend to be a bit more relaxed with training than I maybe should be." James' training now include a few runs per week, with a few speed sessions throughout training. "I try not to be overly precious with training and just enjoy myself, and listen to my body," he says. "My major goal is just to have an injury-free and happy race day for my first NYC Marathon. If I happen to do that in under 3:30, that'd just be the cherry on top." Good luck James! ?? #gayparents #lgbtcharity #nonprofit #fundraiser #nycmarathon #nonprofitorganization #lgbtq #equality

Nicolas (on the left) had two kids through egg donation and surrogacy in the USA. He's now coming all the way from Paris to run the TCS New York City Marathon and raise money for Men Having Babies. "I started training for the Marathon 2 months ago," Nicolas tells us, "my preparation is based on a 3 times per-week training with my LGBTQ club The Frontrunners Paris, and I've achieved Paris Half-Marathon and the Paris 20kms this year to be fully prepared. My goal is to finish in 3h.30min" Cheer Nicolas with as little as a cup-of-coffee-worth of donation https://lnkd.in/gpRdvZbU The money raised by Nicolas (and the other runners in the MHB team) will help fund our latest advocacy initiatives to make surrogacy for gay men more equitable - as well as contribute to the MHB financial assistance program. This is the 3rd year that MHB is an Official Charity at the Marathon and we are extremely grateful. Get to know our runners this year: https://lnkd.in/ef68DBDA #menhavingbabies #newyorkmarathon #LGBTCharity

Frank and his family are big supportive allies of the LGBTQ+ community and this year Frank is taking his alliance a step further by running the TCS New York City Marathon to raise money for the advocacy and assistance programs of Men Having Babies. "I started out with the 20 week preparation program," Frank tells us. "My training goal is typically to allow me to finish the 26.2 mile course, without time restrictions, and enjoy the experience, having family present on the route and relishing the support. On this occasion I am energized by being able to raise funds for MHB and hopefully build social awareness that the work they do is critical in building a better society." Help Frank's fundraising efforts with as little as a cup-of-coffee-worth of donation: https://lnkd.in/gd9PcFEN This is the 3rd year that MHB is an Official Charity at the Marathon and we are extremely grateful. Get to know our runners this year: https://lnkd.in/ef68DBDA #menhavingbabies #newyorkmarathon #LGBTCharity

Richard Vaughn (on the left) is a proud dad of twins through surrogacy. In less than three weeks he will run the TCS New York City Marathon to raise money for Men Having Babies' advocacy initiatives and financial assistance programs. Would you encourage him? Every cost-of-a-coffee donation helps: https://lnkd.in/eEXpxQRj Last year was Rich's first time running the marathon for MHB, raising $5000 for our community. This year he hopes to do the same. "My training began in May at a very slow pace and low mileage and kicked into an official training program in July with short runs during the week and increasingly longer runs during the weekend," he tells us. "I had a bit of a setback and late August with an ankle flare up so I had to cut back on mileage to let that heal. Thankfully that seems to have taken care of itself and now my mileage is back up but not quite where I need to be so I'm a little anxious about the race. Prior to the ankle flare up my goal was to break 4 hours, but now I just want to finish and have fun and hopefully not hit the wall!" Show your support to Rich: https://lnkd.in/eEXpxQRj This is the 3rd year that MHB is an Official Charity at the Marathon and we are extremely grateful. Get to know our runners this year: https://lnkd.in/ef68DBDA #menhavingbabies #newyorkmarathon #LGBTCharity

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine - ASRM announced Men Having Babies as one of five FY25 Patient Advocacy Grant awardees. The grant will help us continue developing our Surrogacy Employer Benefits resource toolkit (aka 'Benefits at Work' initiative) for our community. More details about the grant can be found on ASRM's website: https://lnkd.in/gjP4_Kdn For more information on our Employer Surrogacy Benefits on MHB's website: https://lnkd.in/gHvPSNFW The ASRM Patient Advocacy Grant provides grants for US-based organizations to support existing or new federal, state, and local reproductive health advocacy initiatives, educational programs, and/or patient-related events (e.g., support group activities). Congratulations to the following awardees! THANK YOU ASRM for supporting our community!!! ???????????? #menhavingbabies #gaydads #surrogacy #nonprofitorganization #grants #nonprofit #lgbtnonprofit

Thank you Florida! The 6th annual MHB Florida conference took place this weekend in Fort Lauderdale, and yet again, future dads gained knowledge about their surrogacy options and resources on how to make the first step to parenthood. MHB would like to thank The Pride Center for hosting us, our wonderful volunteers Anthony, Jonathan and Mauricio, and the local community that supported us! ????? We would like to thank our sponsors for this event, without whom non of this could happen: [Platinum Sponsors] Family Formers Inc, IVF Florida Reproductive Associates [Gold Sponsors] Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, Simple Surrogacy, Fertility Specialists of Texas, San Diego Fertility Center, Babies Come True, CCRM Fertility, Boca Fertility IVF, Conceptions Florida - Armando Hernandez-Rey MD [Silver Sponsors] Falletta & Klein Law Firm, Donor Concierge, Nodal Health, Law Office of Elizabeth F. Schwartz For those who missed the conference - this was our last conference in 2024 in the United States. But you can already sign up for our upcoming conferences ins 2025! https://lnkd.in/eNswxUfk Next- we're heading to Belgium! ???? #menhavingbabies #gaydads #surrogacy #gayconference #lgbtparents