www.imermanangels.org

The mission of Chicago-based Imerman Angels is to provide personalized connections that enable one-on-one support among cancer fighters, survivors, and caregivers.

Through a unique matching process, Imerman Angels partners anyone seeking cancer support with a “Mentor Angel.” A cancer survivor is paired with someone who is the same age and same gender, and most importantly, who has faced the same type of cancer. A caregiver is paired with another caregiver who has experienced similar challenges in supporting someone who is fighting cancer fighter.

These one-on-one relationships give a cancer fighter or caregiver the chance to ask personal questions and get support from someone who has been there before. Mentor Angels can offer guidance and empathy and help cancer fighters and caregivers navigate the system, determine their options, and create their own support systems. Frequently, caregivers experience feelings similar to those of the person facing cancer. Mentor Angels can relate to those they are lending support to while being sensitive to an individual’s unique experience and situation. The service is absolutely free and helps anyone touched by any type of cancer, at any cancer stage level, at any age, living anywhere in the world.

Imerman Angels was created on the belief that no one should have to fight cancer alone and without the necessary support. At 26 years old, founder Jonny Imerman was diagnosed with testicular cancer and began his fight against the disease. Throughout his experience, Jonny was lucky enough to have loving support from his family and friends but had never met anyone his age who was a cancer survivor. He wanted to talk to someone just like him, someone who truly understood and was intimately familiar with his experience, including having survived the same type of cancer. This was the beginning of Jonny’s vision and in 2003, it became a reality when he founded Imerman Angels.