Chicago Horned Frogs Hockey Score a Goal for Kids with Cancer

Members of the Chicago Horned Frogs Hockey Club are used to scoring goals, so it came as no surprise when they managed to do just that on behalf of the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). The club recently hosted a toy drive that accumulated nearly 50 toys.

The Chicago Horned Frogs employ the mentality that skill attainment and development must come first. Their goal is to highlight the importance of sportsmanship, leadership, responsibility and an understanding that youth hockey is a game that is meant to be enjoyed by everyone involved. When asked about the motivation behind the toy drive, hockey mom Sharon Courtney said, “Our family is so blessed with our health, we decided to help the Treasure Chest Foundation and kids in need.”

Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel was on hand to accept the impressive toy donation and described the enormous impact the toy drive will have for the organization. AThese skilled players scored one for the Treasure Chest Foundation and I want the kids to know what a tremendous impact their toy donations will have on the children fighting cancer. Their compassion and generosity will help put smiles on the faces of children and teens each month who are struggling with the adversity of battling childhood cancer.@

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,000 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 24th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2017.

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 (l-r):

Chicago Horned Frogs Hockey Team Family Ava Courtney (age 11), brother Graham (age 9) and sister Hattie (age 6) display some of the toys collected from their recent toy drive at the Treasure Chest Foundation’s Orland Park facility.