Beverly Ridge Lions Club Roars into Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn to Benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation

The Beverly Ridge Lions Club recently roared into Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn and presented the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF) with a check for $750 in front of the treasure chest full of toys.

The Beverly Ridge Lions Club is an organization of 60 plus men and women who work together throughout the year fundraising and allocating funds for charitable causes. The mission of the Lions Club is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs.

Lions Club member Gene Infelise said, “Lions make a difference every day, everywhere. We are happy to support this worthy cause helping children fighting cancer.”

Ms. Kisel, Founder and CEO of the Treasure Chest Foundation expressed her gratitude for the generous support shown by the Beverly Ridge Lions Club. “A donation of this magnitude is a blessing and will brighten hospital visits for so many brave children and teens battling cancer.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 9,300 young cancer patients each month. 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 22nd 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.