BUCYRUS—The Christmas spirit is alive and well with the associates at the Bucyrus Walmart store.

Several co-workers will be meeting up on Christmas Eve to bring joy and cheer to fellow associate, Vanessa (Hensley) Cooper, who was diagnosed with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity in February of 2020 and has a tumor in her throat area. She has been married to Herman Cooper for nearly 30 years and they have two children, Sawyer and Sierra, along with one grandchild named Raven.

The caroling event was organized by Teresa Spears-Corder, an assistant manager at Walmart, to bring cheer and joy to the Cooper family.

“Vanessa has worked at Walmart for nine years and is such a positive person. She is a pleasure to work with and not only is liked by her fellow associates, but also our customers and the community,” said Spears-Corder.

She said Walmart associates will meet at her house before heading to the Cooper’s home on Faustina Avenue in Bucyrus and will sing Christmas carols, including “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” to bring Vanessa and her family some peace and happiness, even for only a few minutes, this Christmas.

Walmart associate Brian Willard believes in teamwork and will be joining several of his Walmart co-workers in caroling for his co-worker.

“I believe in supporting my fellow associates, especially around the holiday season,” Willard said.

Kathy Nye’s granddaughter is best friends with Vanessa’s son, Sawyer, and that is how she met her.

“That is how I became acquainted with Vanessa and then it just grew into a friendship. She is one of the kindest, sweetest souls you could ever meet,” said Nye.

She said that if one of Vanessa’s friends had cancer, she would do whatever she could to help them.

“This is just a small way we can say we love you,” said Nye. “This family deserves as much Christmas cheer as we can possibly give them.”

A GoFundMe account has been started for Vanessa and her family by Sally Wireman to assist the family with medical expenses and can be accessed by clicking here.