Bella UNDAUNTED 5K Walk and Run Takes Aim at Childhood Cancer

More than 75 seasoned and new runners and walkers helped launch the Bella UNDAUNTED 5K Walk and Run at the Yankee woods in Oak Forest to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF), an Orland Park-based, non-profit organization that provides comfort and distraction from painful procedures to children and teens diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy or gift card in 53 hospitals nationwide. After the last participant had crossed the finish line, an impressive $9,370 had been raised to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation and ultimately the brave children and teens battling cancer.

Bella UNDAUNTED is a women’s non-profit that works alongside with Family Harvest Church to touch the lives of those who live in their communities. “This year Bella Undaunted gathered efforts to bless the Treasure Chest Foundation, due to the lack of attention to local and community needs. We have previously raised funds for international organizations, and realized it was time to make an impact on families in the area where Bella was founded,” said Assistant Azalia Carsten.

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her gratitude to Bella UNDAUNTED and the Family Harvest Church Family for their dedication and support. “Having such an enormous turnout for this 5K race is a true blessing,” said Ms. Kisel. “I am so appreciative of the unbelievable support of Bella UNDAUNTED. Money raised from the event will help our Foundation put smiles on the faces of young cancer patients.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,100 young cancer patients enduring 20,000 clinic visits each month in 19 states across the nation. 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 25th anniversary of remission from the disease in March.

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 web site at www.treasurechest.org.

Photo caption:

Founder of Bella UNDAUNTED Ms. Linda Thompson (right) presents Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel with a check for $9,370 at Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park representing proceeds from the Bella Undaunted 5K Run/Walk.