Campaign Story

Hello! We are Elley and Joshua Marshall, a couple with the dream of becoming parents. For as long as we can remember, we’ve always wanted to grow our family by having a child of our own. But the path to parenthood hasn’t been easy for us. We truly appreciate you taking the time to read our story and hope it is an impactful representation of us as worthy candidates.

A Little About Us
Elley is a teacher who pours her heart and soul into her students every day. She has taught both reading and art to children of all ages, and enjoys coaching high schoolers each spring for the discus event in track and field.  Elley is also an aunt to an adorable 2 year old niece.  Although teaching and loving other people’s children has been extremely fulfilling, she is hoping to become a mother so she can have her own kiddo to love, support, and share her love of art, athletics, music, and children’s books with someday.

Joshua has spent most of his career as a manager in food manufacturing. His employees have described him as friendly and a “people person.” His employees know they can count on Josh to be a problem solver in the workplace, but also someone who cares for the employees as people and friends. Josh loves to spend time with his two nephews, ages ten and six, serving as the “fun” uncle who allows them to embrace their silly senses of humor. 

Both Elley and Josh share the common goal of growing their current family. They are already lucky enough to be “fur” parents to three dogs, Finn, Eddie, and Maggie. They treat pets as children, allowing them to sleep in their bed and go on road trips. All of the dogs love children, and are very gentle and sweet. The hope is that they will someday have a two-legged sibling of their own to love on.

Elley and Josh both also very devoted to our families. Elley’s mother passed away when she was just four years old and her father remarried a caring woman named Jackie who raised Elley as her own. Elley and Jackie’s loving relationship has shown Elley that motherhood is not just about genetics, it’s about the bond between a parent and child. Josh’s family shares a deep love of the Chesapeake Bay and all things beach and fishing. Josh has many memories of boating with his parents and sister. These early experiences on the water led to him becoming a Merchant Mariner for eight years. Josh hopes to someday be able to share his knowledge of boating as well as special traditions on the water with his own child.

Our Fertility Journey
This emphasis of family is what led us to want to start a family of our own. Unfortunately, after trying for over two years to conceive, in fall of 2022, we learned we were facing the challenges of Elley having low Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH), indicating an extremely low egg reserve.  After a series of tests and doctor’s visits, we were advised by our wonderful doctor at Shady Grove in Richmond, Virginia, to pursue IVF.  We knew that this journey could bring us the child we’ve always dreamed of, but the emotional and financial burden of IVF treatment was significant.

 In June of 2023 we transferred our only healthy embryo, genetically tested to be a girl. Unfortunately, in July we were devastated to find out we miscarried just before our first sonogram was to be scheduled. Needless to say, it was the worst day of our lives. Not ready to give up, we decided to try a second round of IVF. This time, yet again, we were disheartened to find that none of the embryos were genetically viable to move forward. For our third attempt, we again successfully made one healthy embryo. This embryo was transferred in January 2024, but it did not successfully transfer. After many tears and long discussions, we decided to take a break from trying to start our family to recover mentally, physically, and financially.

Why We Need Your Help
Now that we are ready to continue this journey to parenthood, we were advised that an egg donor would be our best option. The costs of doctor visits, medications, lab work, and past procedures themselves have been a heavy weight on our shoulders. The total cost for more cycles, this time using an egg donor, is more than we can manage on our own.

We will now be continuing our journey through use of the egg donor program at our clinic, Shady Grove Fertility in Richmond. We know that infertility is something that we can conquer through love and a little help from science. With the assistance from you through The Gift of Parenthood and Shady Grove Richmond, we can now have hope for a family and an exciting future.

Thank You from the Bottom of Our Hearts
We know that with your help, we’ll be one step closer to our dream. Every donation or even the sharing of our story, will bring us one step closer. Thank you for joining us on this journey—your kindness and support mean the world.

With love and gratitude,
Elley and Josh