Highland Park Family Makes a Difference to Help Children with Cancer

Children battling cancer will have reason to smile bright and express their creativity thanks to Highland Park family who donated 100’s of crayons to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation. Stephen Hawrysz said, “We just love supporting the Treasure Chest Foundation.”

Ms. Kisel expressed her profound gratitude, saying, “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for the huge donation of crayons. The crayons will contribute to the gift bags created at the Treasure Chest Foundation for children fighting cancer and will help bring smiles of joy to childhood cancer patients nationwide.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 16,100 young cancer patients in 68 cancer treatment centers in 21 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. Colleen Kisel founded the organization in 1996 after her then seven-year-old son Martin had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. Ms. Kisel discovered that giving her son a toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction from his pain, noting that when children are diagnosed with cancer their world soon becomes filled with doctors, nurses, chemotherapy drugs, surgeries and seemingly endless painful procedures. Martin celebrated his 30th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of this year.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 1-708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.treasurechest.org.