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Baby store raising funds for Cornerstone Foundation
March 12th, 2013
 Marti Goyal grew up in a charitable-minded family and is very active in the Chicago community, donating her time and resources through Urba Baby, the store she opened in 2011.
When Goyal was seeking an organization to raise funds for via the April 7 Shamrock Shuffle, she found exactly what she was looking for in Charles Tillman’s Cornerstone Foundation.
“We always believe in giving back and doing something for the community,” said Goyal, whose store sells baby clothes and products. “We’re always looking for charities where we can give back that are related to children and families because that is the main concept of why I opened the store.”
Goyal is expecting to lead a team of up to 12 runners in the 8K run that starts and finishes in Chicago’s Grant Park. Through Urba Baby, she will match the $45 registration fee for her team members and place logos of companies who donate over $50 on the back of her team’s t-shirts. She’s also planning on soliciting donations from customers and vendors.
Goyal appreciates the charitable work Tillman does through the Cornerstone Foundation and enjoyed speaking with him at one of the organization’s fundraisers.
“He’s a very nice person and very genuine,” Goyal said. “And I know he cares about his family, which is right up our alley because we do too. We love the Bears. We’re a big sports family and we believe in giving back, so it felt like a really good fit. He’s doing such great things.”
A two-time Pro Bowler who has been an integral part of the Bears defense since he joined the team in 2003, Tillman created the Cornerstone Foundation in 2005 to provide children with educational opportunities and resources to excel in the classroom.
After his three-month-old daughter, Tiana, was diagnosed with a rare heart disorder and received a life-saving heart transplant in 2008, Tillman and his wife Jackie changed the foundation’s mission to improving the lives of critically and chronically ill children.
Goyal hopes to raise at least a couple thousand dollars for the Cornerstone Foundation through the Shamrock Shuffle and would like to develop a long-term relationship with the organization.
“If it works out really well I’d love to keep trying to raise money throughout the year,” she said.
“It’s just something that I strongly believe in. I grew up in a family where we always did things like that. My mom was always on the board of directors for different charities, so I’ve always been brought up in a really giving family. That’s really important to me. I have two children of my own, so obviously I care a lot about kids and families and trying to help out as much as I can.”
Goyal does exactly that through Urba Baby, a store she founded in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood (1117 W. Armitage Avenue) in July 2011 after her first son was born. Her idea was to give city parents a place to find all of the baby products they needed while also providing families with community services.
“I felt I just didn’t have the resources that I needed in order to be a parent in the city,” Goyal said. “I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t have a ton of ‘mom’ friends and my husband didn’t have a lot of ‘dad’ friends.”
Goyal opened a second Urba Baby location in the Wicker Park community (1751 W. Division Street) last summer. In addition to selling baby clothes and products, the stores offer free classes, events and workshops involving music, prenatal yoga, prenatal Pilates, infant massage, stroller fitness and story time.
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