Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish Quilters Benefits Children

In the spirit of giving, the parishioners of the Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish Quilters in Westchester are providing comfort to children fighting cancer by donating 24 hand-made quilts and books to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF).

Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish is the Catholic Community of Divine Infant Church and Divine Providence Church in Westchester. When asked why the quilters wanted to support the Treasure Chest Foundation, Parishioner and quilter Debbie Collins said, “We wanted to continue the tradition of the Christmas in July drive started by Eileen Gorski by donating the quilts to the Treasure Chest Foundation.

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her profound gratitude for the generous support shown by the Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish quilters. “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for their enormous donation. The quilts are very popular at the Children’s Cancer Treatment Centers,” 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 POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 15,300 young cancer patients in 64 cancer treatment centers in 21 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 29th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of this year.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 1-708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.treasurechest.org.