Our Story in Pictures
A Journey of Love, Loss, and Legacy
Our Families Story
Darrin and I met in chemistry class in our freshman year of college. We had assigned seats next to each other. We dated for 5 years and then got married and moved to Georgia. We were ready to start our family. We quickly found out that it was not going to be easy as we battled with infertility for several years. We were ecstatic when we found out I was pregnant with our first child after 2 years of infertility treatments in 1996. It was a short lived excitement as we found at our 20wk appointment that there was serious issues and she would likely not survive the birth and if she did, she would be terribly disfigured and would die shortly after she was born. We were urged to obtain an abortion and be done with "the ordeal". We chose to carry the pregnancy to term and provide our baby with the any and every possible effort to survive. I delivered by c-section on August 12, 1996, about 3 weeks early. She was born with no kidneys, underdeveloped lungs and a perfectly angelic face and body. She was baptized and remained on life support for about 8 hours before we were allowed to bring her to our private room and let her pass in peace with the entire family.
It was then that Cindy and Darrin began to look into adoption. Over time, they welcomed four more daughters into their family, two of whom were adopted. They also went through two failed adoptions.
Helping Others Afford their Dream of Family
The adoption process is very emotional, Cindy said, not to mention expensive. “We struggled to afford the adoptions, even resorting to using credit cards to fund the expenses. We were fortunate to have a supportive family and jobs that provided solid and consistent financial support,” she shared. Cindy and Darrin knew others with the same fertility issues weren’t so fortunate. “Many chose to not pursue adoptions as the cost and uncertainty and time delays seemed insurmountable,” Cindy said. Others chose to adopt but took on heavy financial burdens.
Understanding how difficult the adoption process can be, the Millsaps wanted to make a difference and help adoptive families as they were once helped. With some money Cindy acquired from selling her company in 2022, they created the St. Joseph Adoption Support Fund. This endowment aims “to alleviate the financial burdens associated with adoption, empowering families to navigate the adoption process with confidence and ease, ultimately facilitating the creation of strong, nurturing family bonds," Cindy said.
Cindy and Darrin partnered with the Catholic Foundation because “it was important to us to provide support to families that would bring their children up in the Catholic faith,” Cindy said. The St. Joseph Adoption Support Fund allows adoptive families to focus more on loving a child than stressing about the expenses. Grants from the fund will go to Covenant Care Adoptions and Lifeline Children’s Services in Georgia, two Christian adoption agencies in the greater Atlanta area.
Recent Updates from St Joseph's Adoption Support Fund
Contact St Joseph's Adoption Support Fund
Have questions about adoption, the support fund, or ways to get involved? Reach out to us for information on the adoption process, fundraising opportunities, or how you can help empower families through the St Joseph's Adoption Endowment.