The 2020 CPBC Families

This year the Chicago Polar Bear Club is honored to support three amazing families (and one incredible boys basketball team!). Please scroll down to read more about each of the families and to understand how your donations and participation will help these families overcome their challenges.

Family 1: Julian, Jessica, Markell, & Mason Robinson

The Robinson family, from the south side of Chicago, consists of Julian, Jessica, and their two sons Markell (6 years old) and Mason (19 months).  Julian currently works part-time through a temp agency, while Jessica is employed at United Cerebral Palsy working with adults with intellectual disabilities.  The Robinsons are a hard working family, but are currently dealing with a number of challenges:  Julian has Type 1 diabetes, requiring daily insulin injections.  Jessica has a heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, an irregular heartbeat which causes fainting and dizziness and has led to 2 ablation procedures to date.  Their infant son, Mason, suffers from severe asthma and takes Symbicort twice daily.  The family does not have medical insurance and only receives partial medical coverage for Mason’s asthma, still requiring the $25 co-payment for every medical appointment.  The family’s monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses exceeds $500.  Julian and Jessica are young, kind and determined to make a better life for their family as they face considerable obstacles. With your support, we can help the Robinson family establish stability in the lives, get ahead of their ongoing bills, and provide the family the means to support their children.  The financial grants provided to the Robinsons will go towards medical, health, and family care, which will also include rent, food and transportation each month. 

 Family 2: Vanessa Hernandez and family

Vanessa Hernandez is a single mother of 3 children. Recently Vanessa’s grandmother, who helped raise her and provided housing for the family, passed away. In addition to losing someone who meant so much to the family, they also lost their permanent residence. The children are now living in temporary accommodations with other family members, while Vanessa is living close to her work. This means the family is separated for a majority of each week. Currently, Vanessa works at a catering company taking orders, billing, and preparing food. She picks up additional hours where possible, and on the side she cleans houses and runs errands for elderly people. As you can imagine, Vanessa is extremely disheartened that she is not living with her children and currently cannot afford rent in combination with all of the other day-to-day financial needs that come with taking care of 3 kids - such as food, clothing, school supplies and miscellaneous medical needs. While the extra hours and jobs helps Vanessa save money, they also mean time away from her children. Vanessa is dedicated to her kids and is doing everything she possibly can to afford an apartment for the 4 of them to be reunited. The financial grants provided to the Hernandez family will go towards rent and groceries for this dedicated family of four.

FAMILY 3: Diana Cadena and family

The Ramirez/Cadenz family, from LaGrange, IL., consists of Diana Cadena, her daughters Bella Ramirez (8 years old), Melody Ramirez (age 15), Alexandra (age 31), Mariah (22), Minerva Cadena (age 29) and Minerva's son, Jayden (age 10).  Diana became a single parent in October and has been the main source of income for the family.  Diana and her family also lost Michael, their beloved son, and brother, as Michael recently committed suicide.  Since then Diana and family have been dealing with health issues like depression, PTSD, and anxiety.  Per Diana’s doctor's instructions, she is not able to work regularly, and subsequently her income has been cut in half.  Diana and the entire Ramirez family have been selected by the Chicago Polar Bear Club because we see an amazing mother and family who have dealt with multiple tragedies this past year, and their road ahead remains a difficult one.  Diana’s courage and dedication to her family’s well-being is truly inspiring, and with your support, we can ease the tension of past events and help the family heal.   The financial grants provided to the Ramirez family will go towards rent and groceries, as well as medical, health, and family care bills.  

For these families,
the Plunge is life-changing.

With your help, we are making a difference
in the lives of real families.