2024 FAMILIES
The 2025 CPBC Families
This year the Chicago Polar Bear Club is honored to expand our impact and support four (4) amazing Chicagoland families.
Read on for their inspiring stories below, including details on how your support for the CPBC will each of help these families look forward to a bright future in 2025, and beyond.
(1) Maria* & Family
*Name changed to provide anonymity and protect this family
Meet Maria: a mother of three, who is trapped in an abusive relationship and is fighting for a fresh start. She dreams of a stable life, free from fear, where her three young sons - all under the age of 10 - can thrive. But their journey is a daunting one.
Maria has endured an abusive marriage for over 10 years, held back and controlled by her husband. In an attempt to find a path to independence, Maria works part-time on weekends, paid in cash, but her husband strictly limits her time out of the house (and working hours) as a way to keep her dependent on him.
Despite the complexity and challenges of her marriage, she is determined to find a path to a better life: She has begun the process of securing legal help to finally end the marriage. This will be a crucial first step on her journey to create a stable home where her children can grow, without their father’s abuse.
However, once free of her marriage, Maria faces significant financial uncertainty. Her husband currently pays the bills, and she fears what will happen once he is out of their lives. They currently live in a shared apartment under both her and her husband’s names, but he comes and goes freely, making it impossible for Maria and her sons to feel safe.
Further, she does not have a car and so must walk or take the bus to get anywhere, helped intermittently by the occasional bus pass provided by her children’s social worker. And on top of it all, Maria and her children have had to endure the stress and trauma of their abusive husband/father without any mental health support — something Maria also feels will be important to helping them all heal and move forward.
Despite these many hardships, Maria has sought out ways to find peace and support. She has embraced a new faith, forged several friendships to help her through her toughest days, and is now deliberately layout the groundwork for a better life for her and her children.
How We Can Help
Maria’s hope is simple: a stable, independent life, away from her husband, where she and her children can feel safe. With support for transportation, housing stability, and potentially counseling, we can help Maria build a future that is free from fear, and full of possibility. Your support will help empower Maria to become the woman and mother she knows she can be, creating a life where her children grow up safely and surrounded by love. Join us to help set Maria and her children on a clear path to a life of peace, safety, and hope.
(2) The Taylor Family
Meet the Taylors: a family of four, navigating an extraordinary journey. Jazzmyn, the heart and soul of this family, is a devoted single mother to two remarkable teenagers — a 16-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter — whose strength and love radiate even in the toughest of times.
June 2024 was a month the Taylors will never forget: a month filled with joy, as Jazzmyn gave birth to her third child, Jaire; but also uncertainty: Jaire was born far earlier than expected, at just 23 weeks (vs. ~40 weeks for a typical birth). At birth, Jaire weighed only 1 pound 6 ounces, and though his start was fragile, his spirit has proven fierce. Every day, Jaire fights for strength in the NICU, with Jazzmyn by his side, loving him, cheering him on, and ensuring he receives every bit of care he needs.
Jazzmyn’s dedication as a mother is nothing short of remarkable. Balancing the needs of her two teenagers while spending endless hours in the NICU, she tirelessly advocates for Jaire. She’s there, day in and day out, offering crucial skin-to-skin contact, or “kangaroo care,” holding her baby close against her chest. This close bond not only comforts Jaire, but also provides physical benefits for his health, including stabilizing his breathing, regulating his body temperature, and helping to stimulate her milk supply.
Though being there for Jaire is a top priority; it has come at a cost – Jazzmyn has had to leave her job to focus on her family’s needs, leaving her to rely solely on her savings to make ends meet. The road ahead will be challenging – Jaire will need ongoing medical attention and specialized therapies to address multiple health concerns stemming from his early birth, including chronic lung disease and a brain bleed; and Jazzmyn will need to take on a now larger financial responsibility for her now larger family, without the ability to work, given Jaire’s needs for care.
How We Can Help
Needless to say, the Taylor family is facing significant financial strain. With the sudden loss of income, the pressures of rent, car payments, and the everyday expenses of a family of four weigh heavily on Jazzmyn. With your support, we can make a profound difference. Together, we can ease the financial burden to allow Jazzmyn to focus on what truly matters — being there for her children and helping Jaire grow stronger every day.
(3) The Lakes Family
Meet Taronaka Lakes: a devoted mother who has been doing everything in her power to create a secure, loving life for her family in the wake of a devastating loss.
In 2020, Taronaka lost her partner to cancer—a tragedy that shook her family to its core, leaving an emotional and financial void that still impacts them today. As she’s worked to help her children heal and regain stability, Taronaka has faced challenge after challenge. However, through it all, she remains determined to give her children the love, care, and stability they need.
As a single mother, Taronaka has taken on the responsibility of raising her children, two of whom are still minors. She works not only a full-time job providing support to veterans, but also part-time in home care. Though she picks up every extra shift or patient she can, covering the costs of basic needs remains a constant challenge. She feels lucky to have both of these jobs, but because she earns just above the income limit for government benefits like SNAP (to help with the costs of food), Taronaka doesn’t qualify for extra support, leaving her to manage completely on her own.
Because of this, Taronaka is doing everything she can to provide for her family – including recently completing her certification as a dental assistant. Balancing her rigorous coursework with a full-time job and family responsibilities, she demonstrated extraordinary dedication and resilience. Her dream is to secure a second job in the dental field, where her new certification could offer her family the long-term financial stability they deserve. Unfortunately, being a single parent and working multiple jobs has left her very little time to pursue this new path.
Despite the complexity and demands of everything she’s juggling, Taronaka remains deeply committed to moving her family’s life forward. According to the organization that referred Taronaka to us:
“In her role at a facility serving homeless veterans, [Taronaka] not only manages her own demanding career, but also provides unwavering hope and support to those she serves. In her current role, Taronaka connects veterans with community resources, leveraging her network to make sure these individuals receive the tailored support they need. But, even as she supports others, Taronaka finds herself needing a helping hand, as rent, utilities, groceries, and the daily expenses of raising teenagers weigh on her.”
How We Can Help
With your support, we can offer the lifeline Taronaka and her family needs. Financial assistance give Taronaka the breathing room to focus on securing a position in the dental field, spending more time with her children, and giving her family the chance to rebuild and find security. Your donations can provide Taronaka and her family a springboard to a brighter, more stable future.
(4) The Escobedo Family
Meet the Escobedo family: made up of Diana and her four children - Christian (17), twins Adriana and Ariana (14), and young Augustino (5).
Diana is a devoted mother whose deep love for her children shines in everything she does. As a single parent, she has always been driven to provide her family with stability, strength, and joy. Life, however, had other plans, and has thrown her challenges that have made it hard for her to keep moving forward.
This is rooted in that, Augustino, her youngest child, has been diagnosed with non-verbal autism. Caring for him requires immense dedication, and while Diana acknowledges the challenges, she views Augustino as a true blessing. Though Augstino is timid, he is incredibly inquisitive, with a true love of books.
Since Augustino’s diagnosis, Diana faced mounting difficulties. Augustino’s care requires round-the-clock attention, which has made holding down a steady job difficult. Further Diana’s car has broken down, leaving her without the necessary transportation to easily get to her job or manage essential errands like grocery shopping. Despite these obstacles, Diana fights tirelessly to provide for her children, taking on any work she could find to keep them in their home of 12 years. Eventually, though, the weight became too much, and the family lost their apartment. Though friends and family were able to provide a place to stay at the outset, more recently, they have found themselves out of options, and now reside in a homeless shelter.
Despite it all, the Escobedo’s are truly a tight-knit family that supports one another each and every day: Augustino’s older twin sisters – Adriana, the firecracker, and Ariana, the sunflower – are helping with Augustino as much as they can as they navigate high school; and Christian, Diana’s eldest, is a steadfast source of support, often rising early to make breakfast for everyone and always ready to assist with his little brother’s care.
How We Can Help
With your help, we can help ease the family’s multiple burdens: Reliable transportation, a new apartment, and quality childcare are the greatest needs standing between Diana and the future she envisions for her children. By helping to provide these essential resources, we can give Diana and her children the stability they need to find their way back on their feet, and into a brighter tomorrow.