Marquette Bank, Beverly Bike Go Extra Mile for CWC Giveaway

Each year, Christmas Without Cancer teams up with sponsors to present one girl and boy Christmas bicycles, a vehicle for the non-profit to express thanks to the communities that support the local families battling cancer.

This year's new sponsors – Marquette Bank and Beverly Bike and Ski – illustrated the essence of the Christmas spirit.

Marquette Bank expanded the contest announcing the bikes would be displayed at two locations - Mount Greenwood and Evergreen Park bank - guaranteeing twice as many entries to win the two bikes. The bank matched children's first deposits for newly opened accounts.

Beverly Bike and Ski owners Paul and Kathleen Weise surprised everyone further – the 100-year old shop paid for the bikes in full, with the condition that the other sponsorship monies be split and earmarked for Christmas Without Cancer as well as Pat Mac's Pack, a Beverly foundation funding pediatric brain tumor research. Everyone was thrilled.

"When two of our sponsors closed their doors last year, the window opened and in came Marquette Bank and Beverly Bike," said Christmas Without Cancer founder Gerri Neylon of Evergreen Park. "Our organization is so proud to be associated with such sponsors and an influential group like Pat Mac's Pack."

In turn, Pat Mac's Pack was amazed by the gesture, but not the source, given that Paul Weise is the premier ambassador of biking in Beverly and beyond. Beverly Bike provided important seed money as one of the first sponsors for Pat's Pedaling Pack's inaugural 100-kilometer ride from South Side Beverly to Long Beach, IN back in 2014 to generate important research funding.

"Everyone admires the work Christmas Without Cancer does for the families in our area, so we relish in this association," said Pat Grant, a Pack board member. "Beverly Bike and Paul have been with us from the beginning."

Marquette Bank officials from Mount Greenwood and Evergreen Park enjoyed a holiday season watching children venture guesses while practicing financial literacy.

Charlotte Moran, 5, was making a deposit with her grandmother when the two ventured a guess on the number of candies in the jar. Her brother Jaykeb, 8, was on hand to help carry the candy home while his little sister selected a shiny new bike.

Jacinto Thomas, 4, opened a new bank account with a modest amount, which Marquette Bank matched, doubling the boy's life's savings.

"Your child's first savings account is a critical first step in their financial life," said Colleen Marszalek, Marquette Bank First Vice President. "It's fun to watch the kids come in the bank and start to understand the importance of saving and how you use your money."

Sizing up this year's young winners, the Beverly Bike shop owners let the kids choose their bike's colors and then pick out their handlebar bells, baskets, safety reflectors and handgrip streamers. After one last safety check and the securing of new training wheels, the little Marquette bank customers were on their way.

Charlotte's mother Alyssa Munson of Evergreen Park viewed the experience as "a blessing" and a "fitting" sign of good things to come for her daughter.

Born with congenital hydrocephalus, Charlotte has been through two surgeries in her young life.

"After all Charlotte's been through, winning a bike at Christmas and right before her monumental 5th birthday could not have come at a better time," said Munson.

Charlotte's father, Tim Moran, smiled behind his mask as his daughter skipped around the Beverly Bike and Ski showroom. Moran is a Patch.com National Reporter who, in recent years, covered Christmas Without Cancer's many visits to family homes as an editor of the Beverly/Mount Greenwood paper. He and Neylon enjoyed an unlikely reunion.

"Marquette Bank was proud to sponsor this contest and support Christmas Without Cancer," said Christie Cox, Director of Marquette Neighborhood Commitment. "As a neighborhood bank, we are always looking for ways to support our neighbors and local nonprofits."

Christmas Without Cancer identifies need and then provides gifts and basic necessities to Chicagoland families with members stricken with cancer so to allow the beauty of Christmas to shine through while family members find comfort in their devotion to one another.
For more information, visit www.ChristmasWithoutCancer.org