Benevolent Babies Give to Children Fighting Cancer

The family and friends of Lily and Bennett are giving to children and teens fighting cancer. The family of three-year-old Lily and two-year-old Bennett Gnade of Frankfort decided to ask friends to bring toy and gift card donations to their family party. When the party was over, Lily and Bennett accumulated toys and $250 in gift cards to donate to The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation.

Mom Tina Gnade said “My brother was a recipient of the Treasure Chest and the Treasure Chest Foundation is near and dear to my family. My brother has been in remission for 11 years now.”

POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel said, “We feel so blessed to have the support of the Gnade family and all of their friends. Today the Gnade family has given back to the Treasure Chest Foundation, and for that we are extremely grateful.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,500 young cancer patients each month in 18 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 24th anniversary of remission from the disease earlier this year.

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.