Christmas Comes Early for Children and Teens Fighting Cancer

Divine Providence Church in Westchester celebrated the spirit of giving during their tenth annual Christmas in July toy drive to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. Parishioners collected over 4,100 toys, teen items, $160.00 in gift cards and $100 to help children and teens fighting cancer.

Divine Providence toy drive Chairwoman Eileen Gorski said, “Our mission is to spread Christ to the world and our opportunity to spread Christmas in July to the children fighting cancer.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her profound gratitude for the generous support shown by the Divine Providence parishioners. “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for ten years of enormous donations of toys, gifts, gift cards and the continuous support of Divine Providence Church,” said an appreciative Ms. Kisel. “It is wonderful to see the giving members of this church come together to help little ones whose lives have become filled with doctors, nurses, surgeries, pills, chemotherapy, radiation and mostly painful, painful procedures.”

The not-for-profit Treasure Chest Foundation now supports more than 9,300 children and teens each month who are diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy or gift card in 49 hospitals nationwide. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. CEO Colleen Kisel founded the organization in 1996 after her then seven-year-old son Martin had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. Colleen discovered that giving her son a toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction from his pain. Martin recently 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.