Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Valiukenas

Hi Michelle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

My story is one of turning personal heartbreak into a mission to help others. After my daughter Colette died at nine days old, I was inspired to take action to support families facing similar challenges. In 2018, I founded The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation with my husband Mark. Our mission is to improve outcomes in pregnancy, childbirth, prematurity, and infancy, and to aid in the grieving process through financial assistance, education, and advocacy.

Since launching, we have helped more than 2,600 families in 50 states, providing over $1.6 million in grants to families going through high-risk and complicated pregnancies, nicu stays, and loss.

Personally, I am the proud mom of three children—two angel babies, Sweet Pea and Colette Louise, and my living son Elliott Miguel. My husband, Mark, and I live in Glenview, Illinois, where I serve as the executive director of our foundation, participate in advocacy work, and dedicate myself to helping families in crisis.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I would not know what a smooth road looks like. Our nonprofit came out of the challenges we had throughout trying to conceive, trying to get pregnant and stay pregnant, losing our daughter at nine days old, with the goal of helping families in similar situations deal with the challenges they were experiencing.

Along the journey, there have been many struggles such as:
– Getting the word out about our program in order to have families apply
– Managing applications to help families who needed help the most
– Time management and not doing it all myself to the point of burn out
– Staying fiscally responsible while also wanting to help as many families as possible
– Fundraising and getting the word out

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I run a nonprofit, The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, with a mission to improve outcomes of pregnancy, childbirth, prematurity, and infancy, as well as aid in the grieving process through financial assistance, education, and advocacy. The idea for the organization came during my experiences being hospitalized at 21 weeks pregnant with my daughter and recognizing the privilege we had with being able to handle the surprises and challenges financially. So, we started with and are best known for our financial assistance program, which helps families dealing with high-risk and complicated pregnancies, NICU stays, or loss. To date, just over six years after launching, we have helped more than 2,600 families in all 50 states, granting over $1.6 million.

Some things that set us apart from others doing the work include:
– We assist in every category of loss (stillborn, miscarriage, infant death, and more).
– We have personal experience in all three stages so that we understand what families are going through
– We help families across the United States, not just certain areas or hospitals
– We have the quickest response time of financial assistance programs
– We help during pregnancy
– We give assistance upfront and do not require families to pay so we can reimburse
– 100% of donations go directly to families in crisis

Additionally, I have become an outspoken advocate, presenter, and writer talking about usually taboo topics such as pregnancy and infant loss, infertility, IVF, surrogacy, reproductive rights, pregnancy and parenting after loss.

I am most proud of seeing how many families we have helped, of knowing how the families we help and those who support us know who Colette is and that her name and memory live on. I also was incredibly proud recently when my 4 year old son said that it was such important work he knew he wanted to be part of Colette’s foundation. He has been named our Director of Hugs.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?

– Donate to our cause (100% of donations go directly to the families we help): www.colettelouise.com/donate
– Follow us, like us, comment (this boosts our numbers and gets us in front of new, different audiences)
– Sponsor our upcoming event on 11/14 (https://colettelouise.com/sponsor-a-night-at-the-races/)
– Sign up for our newsletter (www.colettelouise.com/newsletter)
– Attend our event/fundraiser
– Shop our store (https://colettelouise.com/shop/)
– Let’s talk if you have other ideas or thoughts

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.colettelouise.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colettelouisetisdahl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colettetisdahl/
• Twitter: https://x.com/TheTisdahl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecolettelouisetisdahlfou3831

Image Credits

Stephanie T. Adams