Kindbody Announces Recipients of $50,000 Fertility Grant for BIPOC Individuals
Dec 11, 2020, 08:31 ET
NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kindbody, a fast-growing health and fertility company, today announced the recipients of a $50,000 fertility grant created this summer in support of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals. At a time of increased focus on issues of race and racial inequality, Kindbody hopes to help those with historically disproportionate access to women's healthcare and create more parity in fertility and family building care.
Kindbody, in partnership with Fertility for Colored Girls, notifies one of the $50,000 fertility grant recipients
Kindbody created the grant in partnership with Fertility for Colored Girls, a nonprofit organization that provides education, awareness and financial assistance to Black women and couples, and other women of color, experiencing infertility. After a competitive application process, the four grant recipients are Dana Bingham, Ma'Keba Spicer, Carmia Marshall and Afrika Lander. Their reactions to being awarded the grant can be seen here. The grant will go towards covering three IVF cycles and one egg freezing cycle at Kindbody locations.
"We received over 300 applications, more than 10 times as many applicants we've had with previous grants," said Reverend Dr. Stacey Edwards-Dunn, who founded Fertility for Colored Girls after going through seven rounds of IVF herself. "The overwhelming amount of submissions I reviewed underscores that Black Lives Matter, and Black reproductive health matters too."
Jennifer Woods, Kindbody Customer Success Manager, who is helping the grant recipients navigate their fertility treatment said, "On the calls I've had with the recipients, the release of emotions we experienced together, from despair to hope to tears of joy, felt like a life-changing moment for these women that I consider a privilege to have been a part of."
Kindbody serves patients and employers as a direct care provider and a fertility benefit solution. Unlike other fertility benefit solutions who sell into employers, Kindbody is in a position to provide this grant because they are provisioners of care. Kindbody has its own clinics in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Princeton, with another 15 locations scheduled to open in the next 18 months.
"The pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color when it comes to accessing health and fertility care," said Gina Bartasi, CEO and Founder, Kindbody. "I recognize that we have a responsibility to lead, shape and support when it comes to diversity and inclusion within healthcare and humankind."
Added Rev. Dr. Edwards-Dunn, "Kindbody genuinely supports in solidarity our cause for healthcare equality not just for a moment, but as part of our movement."
To make an additional donation towards this grant, please visit here.
