Fish Tales Fishing Club Nets Huge Catch of Toys and Gift Cards

Fish Tales Fishing Club in Oak Forest netted over 200 toys and $335 in gift cards recently to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF) during the Fishing Club’s annual Christmas Party. The Orland Park-based non-profit organization provides comfort and distraction from painful treatments to children and teens diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy or gift card in 59 cancer treatment centers nationwide.

Fish Tales Fishing Club (www.fishtalesfishingclub.com) is an organization of men and women who meet monthly to discuss fishing techniques, conduct seminars about local lakes and to support the South Suburban Special Recreation Association by organizing weekly fishing trips throughout the summer.

Fish Tales Fisherman Fred Howes said, “I love what the Treasure Chest Foundation is doing. Our club was very generous, and we enjoy bringing smiles to the faces of kids fighting cancer.” Fish Tales Fisherwoman Jackie Vogen chimed in saying, “What is more precious than putting a smile on a child’s face and being able to brighten the lives of so many brave children and teens battling cancer.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her gratitude for the generous support shown by the Fishing Club members. “Fred Howes and all of the Fish Tales Fishing Club members have been in our corner for eleven years. Each passing year their toy and gift card drives are bigger and better,” said an appreciative Ms. Kisel. “The Fishing Club’s tremendous support will brighten the lives of so many brave children and teens battling cancer.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,000 young cancer patients in 59 cancer treatment centers in 20 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia. 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 in March of 2019.

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): Fish Tales Webmaster and Fisherman Frank Knight, Fisherman Fred Howes, Fisherwoman Jackie Vogen and Fisherman Kenny Vogen proudly display the Fishing Club’s fresh catch of toys at the Treasure Chest Foundation’s Orland Park warehouse. The toys and gift cards they landed during the Club’s recent Christmas Party will bring smiles of joy to thousands of children and teens battling cancer across the nation.