Hello, I am Camille Hawkins, and I need your help!
Two simple steps could help save this vital community resource: Write a letter and donate.
As the founder of the Utah Infertility Resource Center (UIRC), now known as Infertility Connections, I’m asking for your help during a critical time. Infertility Connections has helped thousands of people struggling to build their families. The organization's Board of Directors recently announced it will close at the end of the year for reasons endemic to many non-profit organizations, including insufficient financial support.
Infertility affects 1 in 6 people, and this issue impacts someone you know—your daughter, your friend, or a family member. Did you know? The emotional pain caused by infertility is as high as the distress experienced by people fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses (Dr. Alice Domar).
Now, we need your help to keep the doors open to this crucial community resource. Infertility Connections provides essential services—like counseling, support groups, workshops, lucky socks, and an annual conference—that have been a lifeline for many people. Losing these services would be devastating.
Infertility Connections has done everything it can to stay open, but without more financial backing and YOUR support, the organization can’t continue.
I, along with four committed individuals, have asked to take over Board leadership and keep the mission going. I founded this organization, led it as Executive Director for three years, and served on the board for another three. Although I haven’t been formally involved in recent years due to other community-based endeavors I have been working on, I have the experience and dedication to lead this effort.
Here’s the leadership team who wants to step in:
Camille Hawkins, Board Chair
Alina Lamoreaux, Vice Chair
Amanda Gruendell, Treasurer
Cristina Johnson, Secretary
Bethany Cutler, Board Member
Each of us has deep ties to the organization and a strong commitment to making sure this resource remains available to those who need it.
How You Can Help:
Two simple steps could make all the difference:
1) Write a letter of support by Wednesday, December 4th at 6 PM. Let us know how Infertility Connections has helped you, why you support the new leadership, and how you are willing to help the organization going forward. Please send your letters to c a m i l l e @ c h a p t e r s a n d s e a s o n s . c o m (no spaces) and they will be presented to the current Board of Directors a the proposal meeting. If you're unsure of what to write, here's an example you can use or modify.
2) Donate to help keep Infertility Connections open. Your support is critical. Tax-deductible donations will be housed with The Wellness Farm Foundation of Utah, a nonprofit organization supporting grief and trauma. These funds will support the infertility community through a funds transfer to Infertility Connections if its board gives us the opportunity to revitalize the organization. If that’s not possible, the funds will be used to create an infertility support arm within The Wellness Farm Foundation, continuing to provide infertility resources for the community.
Together, we can make sure the infertility community has the resources it needs. Thank you for helping us keep this vital service alive!
Sincerely,
Camille Hawkins, MSW, LCSW
Mother to 2 amazing daughters via Adoption
Mother to 1 wonderful son via Egg Donation
Mother to Everly who was stillborn
Mother to Estella who was miscarried
MORE INFORMATION BELOW ABOUT THIS CRUCIAL ORGANIZAITON:
Thanksgiving of 2013 I miscarried after my first IVF cycle. I was so alone. I went to a perinatal loss support group at the UofU and felt even more alone after people looked at me and said, “how far along were you?” with a look in their eye that said, “my baby died, you don’t deserve to be here.” I asked the director if she ever considered doing a group for infertility and she said, “no, we have to stick to our mission of grief for death.” I was confused because every month my eggs died, and I was grieving.
So I looked at other options. I decided to start my own support group in my living room of the tiny sugarhouse bungalow that I lived in. In March of 2014, our first group met. There were five of us. Each month it grew. Then people were coming from the counties of Cache, Weber, Morgan, Brigham, Summit, Salt Lake, Utah, Tooele, and beyond.
After another failed IVF where all our embryos died, we turned our hearts to other options. In December of that year, we were blessed to become parents of a little girl, Elizabeth, through adoption. But now our tiny bungalow was filled with baby items. A few months later we were matched with another baby girl. We definitely needed a new place for our support group.
In August of 2014, I was standing with my husband and daughter at the Footsteps for Fertility 5K with hundreds of people hoping to win an IVF cycle. I thought to myself. “Wow, there are so many people here. Where do they go to talk about how hard this is?”
I started to see if any type of support existed. I had seen a few nonprofits and support groups pop up and fizzle out after a few years. How sad, because I needed support now, not in the past.
I also realized that our community was unique. Utah’s culture focused on family complicated the experience for many. We launched a needs assessment and surveyed 162 people in Utah struggling with infertility. The results were astounding. We knew that nationwide, 50% of those struggling with infertility said that infertility was the most difficult experience of their life. For Utahans, it was 75%.
We built the programs based on the needs assessment. I met with four other individuals and pitched my idea for a nonprofit center that focused on caring for those facing infertility in our state. Everyone replied with a resounding yes.
We put our heads down and got to work. We had $0 in the bank, but a lot of passion in our hearts. We formally incorporated in Sept 2015 and worked tirelessly for 6 months, launching our open house in Spring of 2016.
I remember when I toured Meet Me on 33rd. I had volunteered with The Sharing Place for years. I met with their program director, for lunch and she shared all sorts of nonprofit wisdom with me. She connected me with their previous director who owned a building a few doors down. When I saw the space, I immediately knew it was the right place for UIRC.
I built relationships with the fertility clinics. I went to their offices and pitched to them my idea. I raised money. I built relationships with many different professionals in the community.
By the time we were 3 years in, I had built a nonprofit organization that was bringing in $200k/year. I had raised $60k that could be set aside for a rainy day.
Things were looking good, but something in me was telling me I needed to make a change. I pitched to the board to split the Executive Director role, to stay on as a program director and to hire someone who could focus on the other operating aspects. They felt it would be easier to hire someone for the entire job. Shortly after, I was shocked to find out I was miraculously pregnant and would be welcoming a baby girl in January 2019. So finding a new Executive Director really made sense.
After my daughter, Everly, was tragically stillborn the next month, it felt like I had nothing. My baby died, and I no longer had my nonprofit “baby” that I had built for the previous 3+ years. I moved to the board of directors for three years, and then was recruited to the Postpartum Support Utah board by community leader and champion Amy-Rose White and felt it would be too much to do both boards.
I started a private counseling practice in 2019, expanded that in 2022, started another nonprofit organization in 2023, have served on several nonprofit boards, and began consulting for other nonprofits. I also started a nonprofit with three other therapists focused on training for providers in the reproductive mental health space.
When the current Board Chair shared the struggles of the organization, I was sad, but I understood everything she shared. Nonprofits are EXTREMELY fragile. Anything could derail a small community-led nonprofit at any moment. I had only gratitude that they had worked so hard to find a solution.
With the ask of “can you take UIRC back,” I felt I couldn’t in its exact form, but I shared ideas I thought could continue support for the infertility community with the organization moving forward, some of which involved me. After a few weeks of deliberation, the board made the tough decision to close and announced last week on November 20th, 2024.
A few days later, a member of Utah’s infertility community reached out to me on an unrelated subject, and Infertility Connections came up. She expressed grief that the organization was on the brink of closure. She shared that several others she was connected to felt the same. She hoped she and others could have the opportunity for the torch to pass to them.
I felt this new information was important to share with the board. I was asked again by the Board Chair if I was interested in taking UIRC back, and I shared that if the organization was closing anyway, why not try to rally together support. New information made it clear there were several people interested in supporting the organization moving forward. If there were potential leaders this passionate with energy available to go to work, then yes, with that new information, I could assist in a revamp and rebuild. I sent in a proposal and the Board invited more formal documents and a meeting for next week.
If and when my daughters or son struggle with infertility, I want this resource to be here. And several have spoken up and said that “yes,” it can continue with their help. The original founding board had seen that nonprofit organizations in our area had popped up and fizzled out, without the foundation or structure for longevity. This nonprofit has lasted a decade and has accomplished so many things. But people in our area won’t stop facing fertility challenges.
In anticipation of Infertility Connections giving us the green light, I nominate myself as Board Chair. I have started three nonprofits from nothing and have supported several others as a consultant. I have been recognized by Utah Business, Utah State University, America First Credit Union, and REAL Major League Soccer team for my work in the community. I house the original vision of this organization, as it was born in my mind. I am able to adapt and lead with heart and passion.I get that many things have changed. We can adapt the organization to meet the current needs of the community.
I nominate Alina Lamoreaux as Vice Chair. Alina received services personally from the organization after years and years of infertility and multiple pregnancy losses. She has extensive experience in program management, business development, marketing, and community outreach. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
I nominate Amanda Gruendell as Treasurer. Amanda was the keynote speaker of the infertility conference a few years ago. She shared her story of receiving a uterus transplant through a Cleveland Clinic study and having her daughter through that miracle gift. She shared in her keynote address how special the community is that has been built here, that there is nothing like this in Arizona where she has lived, there is nothing like this in Cleveland where she has lived, and we are so lucky to have the resources and support that we do through this organization in our community. She has several years of experience as an accounting and finance professional.
I nominate Cristina Johnson as Secretary. Cristina has been a support group leader for the organization for many years and is also an executive assistant for the CEO of a large organization. The CEO runs a nonprofit which Cristina was and is his right hand individual in building and running it. Cristina is optimistic and positive!
I nominate Bethany Cutler as Board Member. Bethany has served as a support group leader for the organization for many years. She was also the president of the Salt Lake Mother of Twins Nonprofit for several years and has extensive experience supporting individuals in unique situations.
Given the opportunity, the five of us will take the reins of Infertility Connections in a way that works with the changes and current needs of the community. I have commitments from the four of them and a list of others in the community who have pledged their interest in supporting the organization moving forward.
This isn’t about me, it’s not about the board, it’s not about the staff, and it’s not about the donors. It’s about the infertility community now and for years to come. It’s about every person in our area who is struggling with the heartbreak of infertility and those who will struggle with infertility in the future.
We have asked the board to give us a chance, to give us the opportunity to care for the nonprofit that was born from my mind, created through my hands, and that I rallied the community to build from the ground up. With these passionate leaders stepping forward, we are ready. Will you join us? Will you show your support? Please show your support by sending in a letter, an email, and/or a donation. We are grateful for your support. And if you’re interested in joining us in additional ways, please let us know that as well!
