Kolmar Avenue Elementary School Donates to Children with Cancer

Students and families at Kolmar Avenue Elementary School in Oak Lawn are giving to children and teens fighting cancer. The school PTA recently sponsored a “Family Bingo Night” to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). After the last number was called, the event brought in a vanload of toys and $137 in gift cards for children and teens battling cancer.

Kolmar Elementary School located in Oak Lawn is one of six elementary schools in Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123. It is a public school that serves 316 students in grades PK, K-5.

Kolmar School Treasure Chest Committee Chairperson Jennifer Fortier said, “I am overwhelmed with the amazing generosity of the Kolmar Community in their donations to this important organization that supports our local hospital.”

Ms. Kisel expressed her profound gratitude for the generous support shown by the children and families of Kolmar Elementary School. “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful to the families at Kolmar Avenue School for their enormous donation of toys and gift cards,” said Ms. Kisel. “It warms my heart to imagine such an awesome event that ultimately brings in toys and gift cards for kids fighting cancer.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 16,100 young cancer patients in 66 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 29th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2022.

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