65th Program Opens in Honor of Faith United Methodist Church

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation announced the opening of its 65th Treasure Chest Program on June 7, 2022, at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in honor of Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park. The Treasure Chest Foundation is an Orland Park-based non-profit organization that provides toys, gifts and gift cards to children and teens diagnosed with cancer.

Each new Treasure Chest Program is opened in honor or in memory of one or more individuals whose lives have impacted the success and influence of the Foundation.

This Program opened in honor of Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park, whose belief in the mission of the Treasure Chest Foundation began in 2011 and has since donated $44,350 to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation.

“We have come a long way and we are so excited to open our 65th Treasure Chest Program in our 26th year of providing smiles to little ones,” said Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel. “This would not be possible without the support of the Faith United Methodist Church Family. They are silent heroes for thousands of children and teens fighting cancer.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services now impact more than 15,700 young cancer patients in 65 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 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.

Photo caption: Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park Missions Committee Chairperson Genie Lang (center) presents $225 in gift cards to Volunteer Services and Programs Director Cheryl Allmon (right) at the 65th Treasure Chest Program at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital as Nurse Manager Jody Ohsiek looks on. The event marked a major milestone for the Orland Park-based Treasure Chest Foundation, establishing its 65th program to benefit children and teens battling cancer across the nation.