Frankfort Girl Scout Brownie Troop 75153 Makes the World a Better

Girl Scouts requires the leadership and planning skills necessary to make a positive impact in the community. That is exactly what the members of Girl Scout Troop 75153 of Frankfort did recently when they collected $50 in gift cards, more than 200 toys and volunteered to label and categorize the toys to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). The toys will comfort children fighting cancer across the nation including those receiving treatment at Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn.

The Girl Scout mission is simple: To build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

Girl Scout Troop Leader Theresa Larkin said, “Our goal is to teach the girls to give back to the community.” Mrs. Nicole Pacini added, “This is our second time giving to kids with cancer, I actually suggested giving to the Treasure Chest again.”

“The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful to Girl Scout Troop 75153 for their gift of service,” said Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel. “Not only do we appreciate the girls’ hard work, but we are so happy to be a part of this wonderful organization which is dedicated to making the world a better place. The Treasure Chest Foundation is a better place because of Girl Scout Troop 75153.”

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 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.

Photo caption:

The proud members of Frankfort’s Girl Scout Brownie Troop 75153 taking a break from organizing more than 200 toys they collected to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation and kids fighting cancer include (front row, left to right): little brother Vincent Pacini, Paisley Deanching, Gabriela Larkin and Allison Basile, (back row, left to right): Girl Scouts Sophia Pacini, Jillian Kwiecinski, Amelia Lurkin, Molly Smith, Chloe Roldan, Megan Sullivan and Megan Egglesfield.