The Jackson Chance Foundation is an Illinois non-for-profit, tax exempt 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to providing resources to families with babies in neonatal intensive care unites (NICU). Our mission is to provide support to NICU families, allowing them to spend more time with their baby. By contributing to the Jackson Chance Foundation, you help families be with their critically ill child, thus enriching and potentially extending their life.
The Jackson Chance Foundation is a charity providing complimentary parking and transportation to families with babies in the NICU, allowing families to spend more life-improving time with their children. The Jackson Chance Foundation’s mission was inspired by co-founders Carrie and Terry Meghie after the passing of their son, Jackson Chance, who spent all but 48 hours of his ten-month life in the NICU. Carrie and Terry were fortunate to have the resources and support to spend each and every day with Jackson, a factor they firmly believe contributed to the happiness and length of his short life.
Nationally, parking at NICUs is a major hurdle for new parents ranging from $4,200/month in New York City to $1,800/month in Chicago; the average NICU stay is 27 days, and most babies are there for many months. The Meghies witnessed families struggling to pay for parking; parents desperate to see their children, but held back with work commitments; mothers and fathers forced to leave their babies alone in the NICU despite their best efforts to visit. The Jackson Chance Foundation ensures that the financial burden of parking and transportation does not stand in the way of any parent seeing their child. In partnership with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, JCF created the NICU Transportation Program, which provides complimentary transportation to all families, each and every day their child is in the NICU and is fully funded by the Jackson Chance Foundation.