Long Beach residents, Sade and Martin Bumberger are elated after learning that their miracle baby Elizabeth Bumberger, 2, has been named one of the top 10 finalists in the national Baby of the Year competition.
Colossal Impact, a company that works alongside various organizations, collaborated with Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that helps them in the mission to provide children across the U.S. with basic necessities. The joint campaign, Baby of the Year is an example of this partnership.
“Baby of the Year is a nationwide fundraising campaign that supports Baby2Baby, an organization that provides essential items to children living in poverty,” said Anne-Marie Pritchett, Colossal’s communications director.
Sade and Martin Bumberger have been married since 2013. A short time later, the couple wanted to start a family, but continued to have trouble conceiving a child naturally.
“We tried for several years to have a kid,” Martin said. “We went to the doctor to see why this was not working.”
Around 2015, they opted for in vitro fertilization. This is when egg and sperm are fertilized through reproductive technologies.
“When we got a diagnosis for why it (conceiving naturally) wasn’t working we started the IVF process,” Martin said.
Along with the stress and concerns, the cost also makes it a difficult journey was as IVF is expensive, costing anywhere from $5,700 to over $30,000.
“It is very costly because no insurance covers it,” he said.
Additional challenges for the couple occurred with the IVF process, outside of its hefty price tag.
“We tried one time but it failed. We paused for a year, seeing if we wanted to try this again. We did and it failed again. The third time was the charm,” Martin said.
On Aug. 4, 2023, the couple had their bundle of joy — Elizabeth Bumberger.
“I saw a sign-up for the Baby of the Year competition on social media and I was like, “why not?” She has a personality that shines,” Sade said.
The submission process is simple; participants have to submit images of their children, who must be under the age of 2 and a United States resident to qualify in the competition, along with a short summary of the child and their family.
The competition is based on a voting system, with the people’s votes determining who is chosen Baby of the Year.
“Progress is determined by supporters able to cast free daily votes or votes by donation, each dollar equals one additional vote,” Pritchett said. “This structure helps raise vital funds for families in need while celebrating the spirit of community support.”
Elizabeth had quite a few fans cheering her on as she climbed the charts, being named one of the top 10 finalists in the competition.
“I was excited and super proud of where she placed,” Martin said. “I was very thankful to the friends and family that supported us.”
The Bumbergers are grateful for everyone who voted for Elizabeth. They hope that their family’s story of pregnancy and IVF struggles gives others hope to never give up.
“I mean she’s just a joy, being a parent is extremely fulfilling and we thought why not spread it with the world,” Martin said. “We want to show the world that if you never give up and just keep going, whatever you wish for, eventually will come true.”
The competition’s final voting period is from Nov. 14-20.
The overall winner will be announced on or before Dec. 5. Winners are awarded $25,000 and a custom advertisement campaign in Variety Magazine.
Keep up on the competition or if you think your baby is qualified for next year’s competition, go to BabyofTheYear.org.
