You probably already know that Imerman Angels is a one-on-one support service for the cancer community; but, with the relaunch of our blog, we thought we’d help you brush up on some of your Imerman Angels facts. Here is what makes us who we are!
1) OUR BEGINNINGS
Imerman Angels was founded by Jonny Imerman in 2003. He was just 26 years old when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and began his treatment, frequently visiting hospitals and doctors’ offices where he noticed other people didn’t have the same support he had. Although he had amazing family and friends who supported him throughout his diagnosis and treatment, Jonny was always wishing he had someone who had gone through his same journey and truly understood what it was like. Jonny took this wish and turned it into a reality. He founded Imerman Angels to match cancer fighters and caregivers with people who have gone through similar experiences.
Knowing Imerman Angels’ background is key to understanding our mission and why we are so passionate about what we do. Jonny gave us our start, but our staff, volunteers, Mentees, Mentor Angels, Ambassadors and supporters are what will continue to help us grow and carry out our mission.
2) WHO WE SERVE
Our services are open to anyone. We support cancer fighters and caregivers of all ages, all genders, anywhere in the world. We have volunteers, Ambassadors, Mentees and Mentor Angels in all 50 states and 93 countries. Our mentoring services are free for any type of cancer, at any stage level. We provide service to anyone who has been impacted by cancer, including cancer fighters, cancer survivors, and caregivers. We also recently welcomed previvors and the high-risk community to our audience!
3) HOW WE MATCH
If you are interested in becoming a Mentee or Mentor Angel you can reach out by simply calling us or filling out the form on our website and we will reach out to you.To begin the process, we collect information about your experience with cancer, either current or past, and some general personal information such as your gender, age, and location. Finally, we will ask what you’re looking for out of this experience and any specific requests you may have before we begin the matching process. Each potential Mentee and Mentor Angel is engaged in this effort so our Cancer Support Specialists can get to know them on a more personal level to facilitate the best match possible.
After we have all of this information, our Cancer Support Specialists search through our network of over 10,000 Mentor Angels to find the best, closest match for what the Mentee needs. We take cancer type, stage, treatments, age, gender, location, and other specifics into account when going through the matching process.
This process is extremely personal; instead of being matched by an algorithm or automated process, our Cancer Support Specialists reach out to each Mentee and Mentor Angel directly to ensure that both accept the match and have the information needed to make contact. Mentees and Mentor Angels manage their own relationships, but we will reach back out in a few weeks to make sure the match was successful and that they are happy with their new connection.
Each Mentee can have as many Mentor Angels as they need, and each Mentor Angel can mentor as many people as they can manage.
4) IMERMAN ANGELS BY THE NUMBERS
Imerman Angels is making a huge impact all across the globe.
- Imerman Angels has made a total of over 47,000 matches to-date as of March 2019.
- We currently have over 10,000 Mentor Angels in over 93 countries around the world.
- In 2019, Imerman Angels has one office, ten full-time staff members, and over 25 Ambassadors.
- In 2014, Imerman Angels added bilingual services for our ever-growing Spanish-speaking community.
5) HOW YOU CAN HELP
There are multiple, simple ways that you can help Imerman Angels from your home.
- Become a Mentor Angel. Are you a cancer survivor, or were you once a caregiver to a loved one with cancer? You can become a Mentor Angel! Our network of Mentor Angels is so important to our mission. Without our Mentor Angels, we wouldn’t be able to make connections for cancer fighters and caregivers in need. To become a Mentor Angel, fill out the form on our website.
- Spread the word. Word-of-mouth referrals are an important part of our process. The more people who know about our services, the more people sign up and increase our pool of Mentees and Mentor Angels. If you know someone with cancer, or someone caring for a loved one with cancer, tell them about Imerman Angels and encourage them to sign up if they are interested in support. You can also spread the word by following us on social media and sharing our posts with your friends!
- Donate. Donating is one of the easiest ways to help Imerman Angels. Our services are completely FREE to anyone impacted by cancer, which is why support from donors is so important to advancing the Imerman Angels mission. You can donate on our website by clicking here.
- Run (or walk) for Team Imerman Angels. Our Team Imerman Angels marathon teams run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon and Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon events. Each Team Imerman Angels athlete does a fantastic job raising awareness and fundraising for our mission! For more information about Team Imerman Angels, click here.
- Attend our events. We have events throughout the year that support our efforts. Our next event is the Brunch Run 5K Run & Walk, where you and your family can enjoy a 5K run or walk, or one-mile walk, followed by a delicious brunch, mimosa, beer and more! For more information about the Brunch Run 5K Run & Walk, and to register today, click here.
- Shop with purpose. Do you shop on Amazon? Use http://smile.amazon.com when shopping on Amazon and select Imerman Angels as your nonprofit of choice at checkout. By doing this Imerman Angels is able to get a percentage back from your purchases. You just have to select Imerman Angels as your nonprofit of choice at checkout.