Her Helping Habit’s origin story

It all started with love. 

Katie Paquin, Founder of Her Helping Habit (HHH) and her biological sister were raised alongside a number of foster children. They observed their parents extending love and care to everyone welcomed into their household. This experience ingrained in Katie the importance of empathy, sharing, patience, and being attuned to the needs of others. This unique upbringing and a deep sense of purpose are reflected in her habit of helping others, which guided her toward a professional path in Social Work, Counselling, and Advocacy.

For Katie, the concept of forming a family has consistently centred around love rather than mere blood ties or genetic connections. Growing up within a blended family environment, she directly observed the transformative power of love. Witnessing the positive effects of fostering children whose parents could not care for them profoundly impacted her worldview and further ingrained a desire to help others.

During her initial year away at university, an unexpected pregnancy arose due to a birth control failure. The weight of guilt set in due to an awareness of the struggles endured by numerous individuals trying to conceive without success. Unfortunately, a miscarriage occurred during this period. Interestingly, during this phase of life, the notion of egg donation was introduced to her. At the age of 18, she was deemed too young for donation. However, the idea of contributing substantially to another individual in such a significant manner remained quietly in her mind for the next three years.

At 21, she donated for the first time and since then has undergone several egg-donation cycles and helped three families conceive.

After her first donation, Katie began to think about the long-term effects of her decision. She was curious how donor-conceived adults felt about their conception and were surprised to learn that many felt comparable to adoptees, especially regarding family and health histories. Many wished they could ask their donor questions, and some were interested in developing a relationship with their parent’s donor, while others only wanted medical or heritage information. More importantly, many donor-conceived individuals wanted the opportunity to connect with any half-siblings they may have.

Katie's research into the experiences of donor-conceived adults fueled a desire to help Intended Parents, and Egg Donors make the informed decision to choose known donations. 

Her background in social work as well as her own moral code, inspired her to begin working as a fertility coordinator.

She is proud to support her clients by coordinating egg donor and surrogacy journeys with recipients and providing consulting and education to those trying to optimize their fertility. In addition, Katie is qualified and passionate about working with women in sexual & reproductive health and trauma. She offers counselling in these areas as well. 

Katie enjoys learning and continually seeks opportunities to add to her skill set. She enjoys using her natural talents and gifts—as a good friend, a solution-seeker, an effective communicator and an active listener. It has been enriching for Katie to see the joyous impact she has had on each individual’s life.

She is inspired by challenges, big or small, and finds joy in sharing her knowledge.

Qualified and Registered to Help You Navigate The World of Infertility