Homer Glen Family Organizes Toyless Toy Drive to Help Children

Homer Glen resident Rosanne Belczak and her family recently hosted a unique fundraiser for the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation called a Toyless Toy Drive. They asked neighbors, friends and family to make a small donation for the purchase of toys and gift cards with the goal of helping children and teens fighting cancer. The Treasure Chest Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides comfort and distraction from painful procedures to children and teens diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy, gift or gift card in 60 cancer treatment centers across 20 states nationwide.

After the last Toyless Toy Drive donation came in, the Belczak family raised $370 this year. During the past 11 years, the Belczaks’ Toyless Toy Drives have raised more than $4000 for the Treasure Chest Foundation. Rosanne Belczak said, “If you know me, you know how dedicated I am to this remarkable organization. I am in awe of the work they do, and truly amazed at how a simple toy can lessen a child’s suffering.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel extended her most sincere gratitude to the Belczak family for their efforts in organizing such an innovative alternative to the traditional toy drive. Colleen said, “I always thought this was a great idea, but especially now during the pandemic, a fundraiser with less contact really works!”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,000 young cancer patients in 60 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 27th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2020.

For more information on how you can host a Toyless Toy Drive, contact Colleen Kisel at potcf@sbcglobal.net. Visit the Treasure Chest Foundation at https://www.treasurechest.org/.