Gerri Neylon was a Registered Nurse caring for oncology patients her entire career. She retired from Advocate Christ Medical Center in 2018 and retired from Affiliated Oncology in 2024. Gerri witnessed the financial and emotional struggles that cancer patients endure and decided she needed to help in some way. She contacted a few friends and family members in December of 2003 to ask for assistance for a young wife and mother who was battling cancer. They sat around her kitchen table and brainstormed ideas to help this young family. Within three days, they had two vans filled with presents, household items, diapers, food, clothing and gift cards. The evening they delivered the items to the family was amazing! They witnessed the joy and hope that this family so desperately needed. It was very emotional and joyful at the same time. Little did she realize at that time, Christmas Without Cancer was originated and would grow into what it is today! Gerri is very thankful for the committee members and volunteers that help and support our fundraising efforts to continue helping local southland cancer patients and their families.
Gerri enjoys traveling, bike riding, swimming, home decorating and spending time with her family, friends and three grandchildren. She currently resides in Evergreen Park. She has met and befriended many local cancer patients and families since Christmas Without Cancer was formed and she is very proud of all the accomplishments her organization has made over the years.
Renee Copeland grew up in Oak Lawn and now resides in Alsip with her husband, Will. Together, they have 3 children. She graduated from Fox College and worked in a law-firm downtown for eleven years before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom. In her free time, she likes to take adventures with her kids, enjoys trying new restaurants, watching new/old movies, finding the best fishing spots, and reading mysteries on her Kindle.
She learned about Christmas Without Cancer after her own family became Christmas recipients in 2017. Her cousin’s youngest son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma shortly after his first birthday. This was the first time she had witnessed the devastation childhood cancer brings to loved ones. She helped plan ‘Nick’s Fight’ which was one of the largest benefits Bourbon Street had ever seen. Nick gained his angel wings in May 2019 after fighting cancer almost his entire life.
In an effort to pay the kindness forward and help more families faced with the challenges of cancer, she jumped at the opportunity to join the Christmas Without Cancer committee in 2018. A couple years later, she was named President. She enjoys meeting/talking with our families and has become friends with many of them. She feels blessed to be a part of such an amazing organization that helps so many local families in some of their hardest moments.
Mari Elzinga has lived in Evergreen Park since 1991 with her husband, Dean. They have raised 3 children here. She worked as a Theatre Manager for 20 years before deciding to watch family from her home for 23 years. She loves spending time with her 2 grandsons, walking her dog, reading and playing pickleball.
She became friends with Gerri Neylon when she moved across the street. Soon after, Gerri was looking for help from the neighbors with a rummage sale for Christmas Without Cancer. She became hooked when she saw all the good this organization does for local families. She started organizing paperwork and helping with the day to day duties and has since become the Secretary.
Being a part of Christmas Without Cancer has enriched her life. Sadly, cancer has impacted so many lives. It is an honor to be a part of an organization that helps others when they need it the most.
Courtney Buechele is the Marketing Director of James & Sons Fine Jewelers, a local family owned business and proud supporter of Christmas Without Cancer. Courtney joins our board of directors with related experience in event planning, design, sponsorships, leadership, and so much more.
Courtney is a passionate individual who believes in helping people celebrate life’s little moments. She understands the small victories are particularly important to be celebrated for those going through hard battles such as cancer.
Courtney’s hobbies include reading, traveling, spending time with loved ones, and exercising. She’ll also never pass up an opportunity for some pampering or relaxation.
Courtney first learned about Christmas Without Cancer through her friend Lisa whose family was affected by this awful disease. In 2019, Courtney’s mom, Chris, was also diagnosed with cancer. Chris left her job as an oncology nurse to begin treatment for stage 4 stomach cancer. CWC was able to help Chris, but to Courtney and her family it was so much bigger than financial support. It was a sense of hope. Thankfully Chris beat cancer and today is a stage 4 survivor!
Seeing the devastations of cancer first hand and inspired by her mom’s courage, Courtney had a desire to give back. She was so moved by what CWC had done for her mom, her friend’s family, and hundreds of complete strangers that she knew this was the mission she wanted to be a part of.
Jen Clancy was born and raised in Oak Lawn with her 2 younger brothers, and her family still lives there. She now lives in Lockport with her boyfriend and her two beagles and owns her own law practice in Orland Park.
Jen first heard about Christmas Without Cancer from her friend Renee and decided to get more involved after seeing first hand how cancer can affect a family when her dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March of 2018. He gained his angel wings in October of 2022, and Jen looks forward to working with Christmas Without Cancer to help ease some of the burdens of a cancer diagnosis for other local families.
Julie Sullivan grew up in Oak Lawn and attended St. Linus grammar school and Queen of Peace High School. She later attended Southwest School of Business and landed her first real job downtown at a title insurance company and worked as a secretary. She later received her paralegal certificate from Roosevelt University and continued to work for the same company until marrying her best friend, Joe, in 1991. They lived in Orland Park for seven years where she decided to stay home with their two children and became a caregiver to several children in the neighborhood. They moved to Mokena in 1998 and still reside there. Julie enjoys golfing, watching sports, especially the Bears and Blackhawks. She enjoys traveling and spending time with family, especially her precious grandbaby, and her friends.
Julie was looking for something to do in her spare time. Something meaningful, something that would make a difference in someone’s life. When a woman in her golf league was selling tickets for a CWC raffle, she inquired as to what CWC was all about and decided to attend a meeting. She quickly became a volunteer and after the first Christmas delivery she knew she had found exactly what she was looking for.
Julie is extremely honored to be a part of this group of exceptional people and to continue to help CWC make a positive impact on families dealing with Cancer.
Michelle Wood was born and raised on the South Side (Mt. Greenwood) and attended grammar school at Saint John Fisher and high school at Mother McAuley. She graduated with a Bachelors from WIU and thereafter received a Masters Degree from Loyola. She is a School Counselor at Mother McAuley. She is a mom of 2 great kids and has been happily married for 16 years.
Cancer has gotten closer and closer to her family over the years, and CWC has helped some wonderful friends of their family. After seeing the meaningful and much needed work the organization does, she reached out to CWC in 2017 about the possibility of creating a fun fundraiser to help give back to others struggling with the hardship of a cancer diagnosis. With some major brainstorming and a great group of people, the Harvesting Hope fundraiser was developed. Working with Renee and the wonderful friends who helped build the success of this event has been so much fun and so incredibly uplifting and inspiring. It has truly shown her the strength and generosity of this amazing Southside community we live in.
Adopting families at Christmas time was a wonderful way for her to see how the money raised through fundraising truly impacts a cancer family’s life, and this now remains the why of continued involvement in CWCs amazing mission.
