Welcome to Pints for Purpose
Meet the Limb Difference Collective Foundation
10/26/20266 min read
Welcome! We're glad you're here.
Whether you're joining us at Pints for Purpose, bidding on a silent auction item, cheering on your trivia team, or discovering us for the first time, we're so glad you're here.
We're Kari Treat and Ali Barnum, co-founders of the Limb Difference Collective Foundation (LDCF). We're two moms raising children with limb differences who set out to find community, resources, and connection for our families. When we struggled to find what we were looking for, we decided to help build it ourselves.
Tonight is about more than a fundraiser. It's about making sure families navigating limb difference know they're not alone, that their children can see themselves reflected in the world around them, and that support is available when they need it most.
So, consider this your introduction to LDCF. Here's who we are, what we're building, and how you can be part of it.
Our story: Building the community we couldn't find
A limb difference can be congenital, meaning someone is born with it, or acquired through injury, illness, or amputation. It can affect an arm, hand, leg, foot, or multiple limbs, and every person's experience is different.
Kari's daughter, Mackenzie, was born with a right arm difference. Ali's son, Tyler, was born with a left hand difference.
Both of us left the hospital without the resources or connections we wished we'd had. Ali searched for local organizations and podcasts where she could hear from other parents and learn from families with similar experiences. She couldn't find what she was looking for, until she connected with Kari on Facebook.
That connection changed things.
We began meeting with local families, creating opportunities for parents to share experiences and for kids to meet others who understood something about their lives without needing an explanation.
Our first community meetup at Brookfield Zoo brought together approximately 150 people. We quickly realized that families had been looking for this kind of connection, too.
What began with two moms looking for community has grown into the Limb Difference Collective Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in St. Charles, Illinois, serving a community that extends far beyond our own backyards.
What does LDCF do?
Our mission comes down to something simple: connection, representation, and support for people with limb differences and the families who love them.
We bring that mission to life through four key programs.
Community meetups and events
There is something powerful about walking into a room and realizing you aren't the only one. Our meetups create opportunities for parents to connect, children to make friends with others who share similar experiences, and adults with limb differences to find community, too.
Our third annual Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month meetup in April 2026 welcomed more than 250 community members and supporters. We're growing these opportunities because connection shouldn't happen just once a year.
Hugs-in-a-Box
Sometimes, the right words are hard to find when a family receives news about a limb difference. Sometimes, what a parent needs most is to know someone else has been there.
Hugs-in-a-Box is our way of sending that message.
Each care package includes helpful resources, a children's book featuring limb difference representation, a customized stuffed animal with a limb difference, and encouraging notes from members of our community. They're designed for parents whose child has been diagnosed prenatally or born with a limb difference, as well as families navigating limb loss.
Every box is provided free of charge to the family receiving it. With packaging and shipping, each costs us approximately $50 to send.
The first boxes went out in January 2026, and we've since sent more than two dozen to families across the country. Every box is a reminder that support can reach a family even when we can't be there in person.
Hospital, clinic, and community outreach
Families deserve compassionate, informed support from the very beginning.
We work to put practical resources into the hands of healthcare professionals, including OBs, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, pediatricians, hospitals, and clinics. Our goal is to help families find reliable information, meaningful representation, and connections to the limb difference community when they need them.
In September 2026, we mailed nearly 100 letters and resource booklets to hospitals and clinics across Illinois, including toolkits in both English and Spanish.
It's one step toward helping more families find support sooner.
Parenting Children With Limb Differences podcast
Sometimes connection starts by hearing someone else's story.
Our podcast, Parenting Children With Limb Differences, brings together parents, individuals with limb differences, advocates, and professionals for honest conversations about family life, representation, accessibility, and navigating a world that doesn't always understand limb difference.
Now in its fourth season, the podcast has reached more than 5,800 plays and downloads from listeners around the world.
We share these stories because families deserve more than clinical information. They deserve real experiences, practical ideas, and the reminder that there are people who understand.
Follow along with the podcast and listen to one of our many episodes: Visit our website to explore the latest conversations.
Where your support makes a difference
A fundraiser like Pints for Purpose helps turn ideas into real resources and opportunities for families.
Your generosity helps us:
Send more Hugs-in-a-Box to families who could use encouragement, representation, and reliable resources.
Print and distribute educational materials to hospitals and clinics so families can access support and information earlier.
Create more opportunities for connection through our annual meetup and additional in-person and virtual events or partnering with other organizations.
Grow our reach by sharing stories, resources, and practical support with families and communities beyond Illinois.
Build a stronger foundation so this work can continue to grow sustainably.
We're a volunteer-led organization, and every donation, shared resource, volunteered hour, and new partnership helps us move this mission forward.
You don't have to be a parent of a child with a limb difference to make a difference. You just have to believe that families deserve community and that everyone deserves to feel like they belong.
Come be part of what we're building
We're excited about what's ahead and would love for you to stay connected.
Save these dates for 2027:
December 1, 2026: Giving Tuesday, consider making a donation or sharing about our organization.
January 31, 2027: Chicago Children's Museum Play for All Adaptive Sports Day
April 24, 2027: Our fourth annual Limb Difference and Limb Loss Awareness Month Meetup.
August 7, 2027: Our Walk/Run/Wheels event at Mallard Lake Forest Preserve in Hanover Park.
We're also working on additional opportunities to bring our community together throughout the year.
Beyond attending events, there are plenty of ways to help:
Volunteer: Help with events, outreach, fundraising, or other projects.
Join our board: Bring your skills, ideas, and enthusiasm to help guide our growth.
Become a community partner: Collaborate with us on an event, sponsor our work, or help connect us with families and organizations.
Spread the word: Share our podcast, resources, and social media posts with someone who might need them.
Make a donation: Help fund Hugs-in-a-Box, educational materials, and community events.
Interested in getting involved? We'd love to hear from you.
Email us at info@limbdifferencecollective.org or find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn at @limbdifferencecollective.
A special thank-you to our Pints for Purpose supporters
Events like this one don't happen without a community of people willing to show up, contribute, and help make the night special.
Thank you to Pollyanna for generously hosting us, Baig of Tricks for running trivia, and our fearless fundraising team of Carol Monaghan, Dr. Anita Dickerson, Dina O'Sullivan, Angela Fetterolf, and Lindsey Weaver for helping bring everything together. From contacting businesses and collecting donations to creating the beautiful baskets you'll see tonight, they put so much time and care into this event.
And to every business, organization, family, and individual who donated a raffle or silent auction item, purchased a ticket, made a donation, or helped spread the word: thank you. Your generosity helps us turn community support into meaningful resources for families.
Our raffle and silent auction donors
Businesses and organizations
41 North Chiropractic & Soft Tissue Clinic; Alchemist; All Things Art Studio; Alt Thai; Bad Alice; Barrel & Rye, Geneva; Beauty Visits, Natasha Lippi; Chanla Chau Skincare; Chicago Bears; Chicago Cubs, Caleb Thielbar; Chicago White Sox; Chicago Wolves; EJs Simple Kitchen; Ella's, Geneva; Fama Hair Solutions; First Ascent Climbing & Fitness; Funway Batavia; Graceful Ordinary; Grahams Fine Chocolates, Geneva; Hanger Clinic; Heather Holmes EMS Training and Recovery; Hickory Grove Homestead; Kane County Cougars; LedgerWorks; Lemon Clean; Lynfred Winery; Mahan Winery; Morton Arboretum; National Karate; Pepeline by Peppered Design; Peace at Hand beauty visits; Ravinia; Sage Healing Collective; Schaumburg Boomers; Soul Flow Healing Massage; St. Andrews Golf Course, WeGo; Trader Joe's, Batavia; Windy City Bulls; Wired Up; and Wow Hair Care.
Community-donated baskets and gifts
Date Night In basket, donated by the Laraia Family; Chicago Botanic Garden gift, donated by the Bartels Family; Stonebridge Country Club gift, donated by the Gergen-Mathis Family; Halloween and fall basket; Hanger Clinic Halloween basket; Self Care Saturday basket; Sculpted Image basket featuring Dermalogica products; holiday wrapping package; and vintage Fourth of July truck.
Our trivia winners also went home with some fantastic prizes, including Ravinia tickets, Kane County Cougars tickets, a Trader Joe's comfort food bag, and three hours of house cleaning from Lemon Clean.
To every supporter who helped make tonight possible, thank you for investing in this community.
Thank you for being here
When we started LDCF, we wanted families to have the resources and connections we wished we'd had from the beginning. Today, we're building that community together, one care package, one conversation, one meetup, and one new connection at a time.
If you take one thing away from tonight, we hope it's this: you can help make sure no family navigating limb difference has to feel alone.
Thank you for celebrating with us, supporting our mission, and helping us build a more connected, inclusive community.
We're so glad you're here. And we hope this is just the beginning.
With gratitude,
Kari Treat & Ali Barnum
Co-Founders, Limb Difference Collective Foundation
limbdifferencecollective.org
info@limbdifferencecollective.org
Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn: @limbdifferencecollective
Support
The Limb Difference Collective Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 33-3938100) based in Illinois. We are proud to support families in the limb difference community across Chicagoland and beyond by providing resources, support, and opportunities to connect. Every contribution—whether financial or in-kind—helps this grow, uplift our community, and make lasting change.
Together, we can make a difference for those just beginning their journey or wanting to get more involved. Thank you for being part of this adventure.
© 2026. All rights reserved. Managed by Limb Difference Collective Foundation