After tragically losing their preemie daughter Madelyn in 2015, Rachel and Andy Lee wanted to support families in similar situations. Madelyn’s Fund launched in late 2016 in an effort to ease the emotional and financial burdens brought on by a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay. Time spent in the NICU is financially draining on families. Parents are forced to take unforeseen time off work, incur unexpected travel costs, pay countless medical bills, and in the worst cases, bear the expense of their child’s funeral.

The goal of Madelyn’s Fund is to ease the stress families experience through financial assistance, allowing them to focus their time and energy on the well-being of their family. As of March 2021, Madelyn’s Fund has provided assistance to support 1,352 babies including funding 149 funerals. The need for assistance for NICU families continues to grow as Madelyn’s Fund averages two new requests each day.