Cook County Board of Commissioners Honors the Treasure Chest

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation Founder Colleen Kisel was recently honored by the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, for its service and generous work provided to children in Cook County and across the nation fighting cancer.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county wide. Each district represents approximately 300,000 residents. The Board of Commissioners is responsible for the management of the affairs of Cook County.

Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel was honored to receive such a prestigious award saying, “What we have accomplished is important for the children and teens fighting cancer in Cook County. We are honored to receive this award.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,300 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 26th anniversary of remission from the disease earlier this month.

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: Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel and 5th District County Board of Commissioners Deborah Sims proudly display the prestigious award during the Consent Calendar Board of Commissioners meeting in Chicago.