About Us

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Sisters Network Inc., Chicago Chapter, Inc was founded in late 2000 by former President Beverly Gavin and former member Gwen Wesley and by 2001 (in their early humble beginnings) had a membership of 9: (Beverly Gavin (Deceased), Gwen Wesley (Deceased), Ora Jordan (Deceased), Carol Thomas (Deceased), Sherlane Garnett, Sharon Watts-Jordan, Vanessa McCaskill, Esther Thurman and Martha Hailey (Deceased).

 

For 13 years, President & Founder Beverly Gavin was the heart and soul of the Chicago Chapter, not only setting the tone and direction of the chapter but also helping to establish Chicago as one of the leading chapters in the nation.

 

 

 

Chicago hosted its very first cancer workshop in 2000 and 2001 at the DuSable Museum. In 2002, the chapter started its very first annual fashion show and fundraiser and in 2020, will be celebrating 19 years of food, fellowship and fun. In 2007, Chicago was picked at the host city for the Annual National Breast Cancer Conference and in 2013 Chicagoland Photographer Jim Morris presented the “Our Journey” photo exhibit at Chicago State University Library and the Carter G. Woodson Library. The chapter has participated in the Gift of Life Block Walk since 2001 and has hosted more than 100 workshops, health fairs and other events for the community. Membership in 2017 was between 50-60 survivors and non-survivors and had two meeting locations: South Shore Hospital in Chicago, IL and the Jennifer Fallick Community Center in Homewood, IL. In 2018, the chapter reorganized to form one meeting location at the South Shore Hospital in Chicago, IL.

 

Our objectives are to:

 

1) Provide a strong support base and emotional safe haven for women diagnosed with breast cancer,

 

2) Become involved in our communities through advocacy and educational outreach programs,

 

3) Education women and our communities about the early detection of breast cancer.

 

NATIONAL CREED: In unity, there is strength; In Strength, there is power; In Power, there is change!

Our History as an National Organization

Sisters Network Inc., (SNI), founded in 1994, is a leading voice and the only national African American breast cancer survivorship organization in the United States. Sisters Network is governed by an elected Board of Directors and assisted by an appointed medical advisory committee. Membership is 3,000, which included more than 40 affiliate survivor run chapters nationwide. The organization’s purpose is to save lives and provide a broader scope of knowledge that addresses the breast cancer survivorship crisis affecting African American women around the country. Sisters Network, Inc is under the direction of founder and CEO Karen Eubanks Jackson, a visionary and 16 year breast cancer survivor.